The Hunter Chronicles
by SuzukiRavenFire
Summary: This is who I am. Harry has power, he has secrets and he knows what he has to do.
1. The Beginning Part 1

The Hunter Chronicles

Chronicle – record of historical event.

"A lot of you may not want to hear what I am about to say, either because you find it too improbable to be true or simply because you have no wish to believe anything other than what you have already been told. However, there will be those among you who will hear me. It is to that minority, no matter how small, that I address these

words" – Harry James Potter.

Chapter 1

The beginning

16 years ago

"Are you sure we can pull this off?" James asked sceptically.

"Of course we can! We've got everything we need from 5 people to 13 candles –,"

"Why 13?"

"Because we need to focus all the energy onto the recipient – you'll see" Chuckled Lily. "Anyway, as I was saying, we can do this. Dumbledore knows nothing about this –,"

"Are you sure about that? He's a smart guy you know"

"Yes I'm sure, James, we have enough combined magical power to catalyse the reactions that are critical to –," Lily paused at that point when she caught the look on her husband's face that said:

'That went completely over my head and out the window.'

"Sorry," She said, grinning.

"Don't even pretend you understood that," Chided Sirius Black who had, up until now, been quite silent. "So … basically, all we have to do is concentrate, hope and … what else Moony?"

"Pray," nodded Remus Lupin. At Sirius's frown he added: "What? A little faith couldn't hurt could it? I mean look at what we're trying to accomplish here!"

The married couple and their two closest friends sat debating for the thousandth time the probability of their radical plan working. Since its conception two months ago – Harry's birth – their plan had been adapted, edited, refined and even rewritten to the point where it had no need to be written down; it was chiselled into their memory from the sheer number of times they had gone over it. One problem still remained unsolved; the effect it would have on their only son, Harry James Potter. James, (Harry's father) had always been the first to bring up this point in their conversations about it.

"Yeah, but think about his future, he might not be able to handle it, it's a lot to ask of him and it's a massive decision for anyone to make."

"I know, but what other choice do we have?" Lily said "I feel the same as you – we all do - but at least this way we'll be giving him a fighting chance to survive." Her voice held a thousand silent whispers of how she knew that this was what they had to do but she wished, with all her heart, that there was another way. Harry was her son too. This conversation took a new turn in the direction of them all agreeing.

"We'll be there to help him anyway so it's not like he'll be in this alone, right?" proposed Sirius with renewed determination to help his Godson.

"Lets hope so because if Dumbledore gets wind of this we all know the lengths he'll go to stop it. He'll never be able to control Harry the way he wants to after this. If all else fails at least Harry will be able to defend himself from his manipulation." added Remus in a sombre tone. The group grew quiet after that, each lost in their own thoughts of one small baby who lay sleeping peacefully in a room upstairs.

15 years ago

It was two weeks after Harry's first birthday. A storm raged outside. Everything was ready. The candles were set, the crystals were laid out, there was just one person missing: Anika Daniels. Anika Daniels was Lilly's oldest and dearest friend. She was also one of the most powerful and skilled witches they knew that hadn't been killed by Lord Voldemort or run ragged by Albus Dumbledore – following his every command with blind faith. She was also never on time.

"Where is she!" Whined Sirius "What could be taking so long! I know she's your friend Lily, but come on!" He trailed off as the front door burst open and a very wet and cold looking Anika stumbled into the hallway.

"You where saying Padfoot" said James with a raised eyebrow.

" 'As 'e bin wingin' agen?" asked Anika with a thick Northerner accent. Her dark blond hair was plastered to her head and her clothes dripped rain onto the carpet. She greeted everyone in turn as she started to warm herself up by the fire in the front room.

"So …?" Asked Lilly

"So? … Oh! Yeah, soz, couldn' get away from Dumbledore – 'e still wants me f't try an' do that 'special spell thingy that'll supposedly reveal Voldemort's whereabouts or summat like that, I wu'n't really listnin'" rambled Anika in her Northern tongue. Although they still found it hard to understand her sometimes, they got the gist of what she said.

"Is he still talking about that foolish spell? Why don't you just do it for him and prove it's pointless? That way he might finally leave you alone," said Remus

"Maybe. Problem is, the energy I'd need f't use wud proble' blow me 'part reet in middle o' spell!" replied Anika dryly.

"Oh," Was his reply.

"Still, sorry I'm late, I know how much this all means to ya, so jus' walk me through it one more time an' lets get on with it," sighed Anika. They spent the next hour or so going over the plan in detail so that everyone knew exactly what they had to do. All the while the thunder storm sent a flurry of rain to the ground outside their suburban home.

Upstairs in the nursery a small barely a year old baby sat in his crib staring intensely at a little wooden cube with letters inscribed on each of its six sides. Harry began to rock back and forth softly as a flash of bright lightning momentarily illuminated his blazing emerald eyes that embrace an unknown element, shouting magical energy. Suddenly the cube rose off the floor along with two others. For a moment, they where suspended there as if caught in an invisible web. Then, slowly at first, they each began to spin on one of their points. Their speed continued to increase until they looked nothing more than three balls caught in mid air. The child was still rocking back and forth though now it was more urgent and his eyes where slightly widened. It was evident that he was controlling them.

When it looked like the cubes would not spin any faster the boy slowed his rocking until it was barely noticeable. The wind coming in through the open window had picked up slightly and was whipping his scruffy black hair into his face. He didn't seem to notice. His whole being was focused on the three rotating cubes in front of him.

All of a sudden the door creaked open. Harry looked up, breaking eye contact with the blocks, to see his father standing in the doorway.

"Hay kid," greeted James. Harry just blinked at him (he hadn't started talking yet). James couldn't hold back a grin that came over his face when a clap of thunder rolled through the window and Harry didn't even flinch. He walked over to the window and closed it against the midnight storm. He then picked up Harry and sat down on the window seat with his son on his lap. After a long moment James finally spoke, "Harry, I hope one day you'll forgive me and your mother. You have to understand, we just want what's best for you and to give you the best chance we can for you to live. It wont be easy for you. But we'll always be here … no matter what. I promise. Things are getting so bad – you wouldn't believe how bad. To be honest, son, I don't think we're going to see the end of it. But if we do … go … at least we'd know you'd have a better chance of seeing it through. I hope one day you'll be able to forgive us and understand why we did it. But for now … just live." James continued to gaze at his only son with a sad smile on his lips. He had already planned to do so many things with Harry like any other father did. Things like taking him to the park to teach him how to ride his first bike and broom, sports games like quidditch, teasing him about his first girlfriend. Even things like giving him the keys to his first car or sharing his first drink where things James couldn't wait to do. However this war had destroyed all of that. This was not Harry's war. Why should it tear his life apart?

"You know, your mum fancies the idea that you're going to start talking soon," Stated James with a smirk. At Harry's laugh he continued, "But for me, the sooner you start talking, the sooner you talk back. A little part of me hopes you'll never say a word." James chuckled as he carefully laid Harry back in his cot. "Bye Harry" He said and closed the door softly behind him on the way out.

"Bye" the soft reply came from inside the cot, unheard by anyone. The wooden blocks lay on the floor at the other end of the room, silent and still.

Later that night, the storm had died down some but still lingered. James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Anika and Harry were all in the attic. They were positioned in a pentagram with Harry in the centre. Anika stood at the top point in front of the window that was open to the once again gathering storm. Lily and James were at the points next to her with Sirius next to James and Remus next to Lily. Each of them where holding a crystal that had a flat base and short blunt spikes protruding from it. They where a dull white and looked anything but magical. There was also a single candle at their feet that supported a soft flame flickering defiantly in the breeze flowing through the room. Surrounding Harry were eight candles, unlit, totalling thirteen. Each of the five adults where connected to Harry via a crystal that was placed exactly half way between themselves and the child. They where identical to each crystal held by the adults. Harry, as if sensing the importance of all of this, was silent and watchful. But he kept glancing towards his mother and father as if waiting for them to start playing a game.

The storm was still building and Anika glanced towards each of the four adults, silently asking if they where ready. She received a single nod from each. Anika Daniels took a deep breath, positioned the crystal in both of her hands at chest height, adjusted her stance slightly and began to chant. All evidence of her distinct accent was gone as she spoke each word with clear, measured precision.

"Nos dico super, phasmatis patronus, audire nostrum vox. Exorior ex vestry specialis locus, quad tribuo nos an celebratio," The wind had picked up and it had started to rain heavily outside. A slight shimmer had appeared in the air all around them, as if everything was amidst a heat wave. Anika repeated her words louder with more force behind them. When she had finished the apparent heat wave had turned into a mass of what looked like silver coloured glitter caught in a lazy breeze. Anika looked between Lily and James, took another breath and once again began chanting.

"Commodo nos precor vos tribuo no donum of vestry vox –," The silver substance started to swirl around with increased speed as though her words had provoked a reaction from it. She continued "Ut nos may utor lemma, ut subsisto malum, ut est vomica is universitas," Inside the attic it looked like the silver glitter had been caught in a hurricane; the wind had reached howling point and a blast of lightning was chased by a roll of thunder. The 'glitter' was looking more and more like tiny balls of molten light as they changed from a light silver to a mixture of deep gold and rich red. The temperature had plummeted. However fast the substance seemed to spin it did not touch any of the occupancies of the room, as though testing their nerve. Anika spoke again, "Nos es dignus oh valde!" It started to weave in between each of them, dancing in the strong winds.

"Commodo tribuo nos to order super vestry elementum!" She had to shout over the noise created by the howling air. The candles were still alight. The crystals began to emit pure light.

"Commodo tribuo nos to order super vestry elementum!" Anika repeated.

The eight candles surrounding Harry sprung to life and flared up.

"Commodo tribuo nos to order super vestry elementum!"

The candles at the foot of each of the adults flared up to lick the ceiling and the crystals gave out a strong burst of magnificent light.

"Commodo tribuo nos to order super vestry elementum!" Anika screamed.

The mass of swirling orbs were suddenly sucked violently into each of the hand held crystals. Silence. The flames still raged on but at only half their previous height. Nothing moved for a few milliseconds. Then … a huge explosion of pure white light burst from the held crystals and rushed towards the crystals on the floor. As they hit, the intense light was refracted to Harry. As it sped towards him the flames from the eight candles around him leapt up, twisting and cascading. No one could see as five beams of pure elemental magic struck the child.

Translations:

Nos dico super, phasmatis patronus, audire nostrum vox, exorior ex vestri specialis locus, quod tribuo os an celebration.

We call upon, the spirit protectors, to hear our cry, come forth from your secret place, and grant us an audience.

Commodo nos precor vos tribuo no donum of vestry vox.

Please, we beg you, grant us the gift of your powers.

Ut nos may utor lemma ut subsisto malum u test vomica is universitas.

So that we may use them to stop the evil that is plaguing this world.

Commodo tribuo nos to order super vestry elementum.

Please give us command over your elements.


	2. The Beginning Part 2

Chapter 1 – continued

Seven weeks later

The effects of that night where still visible to anyone who looked close enough. Lily still had nightmares about the night her baby's life was changed forever. All those who had been present had a vivid image of the aftermath embedded into their memory.

When the air had settled and their eyes had adjusted to the dimmer level of light, they were rendered speechless by the scene that met them. Anika was lying on her side as if she had collapsed on the spot with her hair was fanned out around her head. Lily was the first to regain control over her body as she stumbled over to her fallen friend whom she trusted above all others.

"Anika," She whispered and put a hand on the blonds head.

"Hay," was the quiet, broken reply. "S'not exactly blown apart, but still … had to be this way girl,"

"Anika, don't say that you're going to be ok," Even as she said it a tear slid down her face and her usually strong voice wavered.

"S'ok Lily, dun' cry, I'd rather I finish like this – 'elpin' you lot than wastin' ma energy on 'im," They all knew she meant Dumbledore. "Bye," Anika sighed and her eyes closed as a small, peaceful smile graced her pretty feminine features.

Lily's hand never left her friends head and she now grasped Anika's hand. But she could feel that it was already going cold. A small sob escaped her lips as she felt arms that she knew belonged to her husband, James, enveloped her in a hug that gave her the strength to stand and discover the effects of the spell on her son.

"Harry," she whispered as she saw Sirius standing in the middle of the now extinguished candles holding a blanket that contained her child. Remus was standing behind him with a hand laid gently on Harry. Together, Lily and James walked over to them. Sirius looked up and gave them a small grim smile and passed him carefully over to Lily.

At first she was afraid to look at him, but after a sad glance back at Anika's fallen form she gazed down at the small boy in her arms. Harry looked so relaxed and peaceful he could have just been sleeping. They all wanted to believe it. It wasn't true. His mind was in a deep coma trying to assimilate all the new abilities it had been given and figuring out how to use them. It was what they all knew would happen. They also knew it would be a long time before he woke up.

It was now the second week of October and Harry had awoken exactly one week ago. He had shown no differences except being unusually quiet and a little more tired than he normally was. Once when James tried to play their favourite game together Harry just laid down and went to sleep. There was also one more difference. On Harry's small wrist there was a thin plaited bracelet that was dark brown (almost black) in colour and had no fastenings of any kind. It was like a continuous leather plait on his arm that could not be removed.

October 31st

The Potters had finally given into Dumbledore's pestering and moved into a secure house that was hidden under the Fidelius charm. They had, however, insisted upon choosing their own secret keeper. Their first thought was Sirius Black. James and Lily both trusted him beyond question but it would have been an obvious choice therefore making him an easy target for Voldemort. The same went for Remus Lupin. Naturally Lily's next choice would have been Anika Daniels but her death now made that impossible. They had only one other option: Peter Pettigrew. He was not ideal but the fact that he had not been in much contact with any of them would hopefully play in their favour by making people, especially Voldemort, believe they had no consideration of him as a loyal enough friend to conceal such an important secret. Their lives would depend on that hope. Peter had readily excepted and the charm had been put into place three days ago. Today, night came early.

"Lily, I'm worried about Harry. He's so quiet," James said with concern prominent in his voice. Lily looked over at Harry from her seat on the couch where she was reading to find him on James' lap. He was leaning sideways against his father's stomach and his eyes were half closed and quite blank. "What's wrong with him?" He asked again. Lily came over to them and knelt down in front of Harry's face. Harry glanced at her tiredly then closed his eyes and fell into a shallow sleep.

"It kind of looks like he's listening to something, something we can't hear but he's trying to understand it." Replied Lilly in a far away voice that sounded like she couldn't believe what she had just seen in he baby's eyes.

"What did you see?" asked James with a frown as he looked down at Lily.

"It was so strange. His eyes. They looked … old."

"Maybe he just needs some more rest. Here take him upstairs and I'll get his bottle," He got up and handed sleeping Harry over to his mother as he made his way to the kitchen. Three loud bangs resonated through the house and invoked tremors down their spines. They froze. Harry was now more alert than he had been all week and he was staring in the direction of the front door.

James moved slowly and steadily towards the living room door that led onto the hallway. When he reached the hall he looked at the glass in the front door. He could vaguely see a dark shape silhouetted against the moonlight. James knew who it was and in an instant he knew he had to get Lily and Harry out of here.

They are the only things that matter he told himself.

"Lily! Take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off,"

The red head didn't need telling twice. She ran from the room, stumbling a little because she was still clutching Harry to her chest. She had made it up about five of the fourteen steps before the front door was blasted off its hinges with such force that James was thrown down the hall. He cried out as he hit the wall. Lily saw all this but forced herself to keep going. It was only when she was up the stairs did she realise that she was trapped.

Voldemort cackled as he saw James picking himself up off the floor, littered with the broken pieces of the front door that where smoking slightly.

"You think you can try and stop me boy? You don't know who you're dealing with." Lord Voldemort sneered. His eyes glowed red with excitement at the prospect of three more deaths. He raised his wand but James tackled him back to the hole where the front door used to be. Stunned, Voldemort fell backwards. He leapt back to his feet to find James disappearing into the living room. "Tut tut Mr Potter. Not very wizard like to resort to muggle methods of attack," He said as he followed James. He found James with his back to the door facing the wall looking down at his hands. Suddenly James spun round and from his hands propelled four throwing stars made completely of ice speedily towards the Dark Lord. Voldemort didn't have time to react. They embedded themselves deeply in his torso and he yelled in agony. With no small amount of fury he pointed his wand at James and flicked it to the left. James felt an invisible hand take hold of him and throw him into the dinning room. He slid along the length of the table and crashed to the floor at the end.

He tried to stand up but was saved the trouble when he felt a strong, cold hand with unnaturally long fingers clasp around his throat and drag him up right. For someone who looked so pale and fragile Voldemort had incredible strength. James was lifted up until his feet no longer touched the ground.

"Do not test my patience, scum, I have business to attend to," Hissed Voldemort. The next thing James knew he was being launched through the air. He landed back in the living room on the wooden coffee table with a sickening crack. The table smashed and he cried out sharply in pain.

He got gingerly to his feet and swayed a little as his vision swam. He put a hand to the back of his head. When he pulled it back it was covered in a warm red liquid. Blood. He looked up to see Lord Voldemort sauntering towards him at a leisurely pace. There where slight wet patches on the robes where the throwing stars had melted.

"So weak, so pathetic." Were Voldemort's only words as he raised his wand and fired a single arrow made of molten rock. James had hardly any time to react. All he was able to do was move ever so slightly to the right. The arrow missed his chest but caught him in his shoulder. The force of the impact knocked him off his feet again. As he lay on the floor, teeth bared against the pain, Voldemort strolled to the door as if he was merely taking a walk in the park. Without really thinking, James yanked the arrow out of his arm. He noticed that it had solidified into some sort of black rock he couldn't name. A thought came to him. As Voldemort walked past he lunged out and planted the arrow into his leg as high up as he could – which just happened to be below the back of the knee. The Dark Lord screamed, turned round and lashed out at James with a brutal kick. It sent James flying through the air yet again. This time when he hit the floor he was finding it a lot harder to get up.

Lord Voldemort saw this and suspected that he was probably only a few moments away from death. So he banished the arrow from his leg and proceeded to the stairs.

"No, no, no …," James groaned and forced himself to his feet.

He staggered in the direction that Voldemort had taken and crashed, exhausted, against the wall at the foot of the stairs. He put a hand on the wall and concentrated with every ounce of energy he had left.

Voldemort was at the top of the stairs, about to open the door to what looked like the nursery when a sudden chill went through him. He looked to his left and was startled to find a trail of ice leading itself up the wall and across the doorway he had been about to enter. The trail solidified into a thick wall of ice across the door. Furious, he turned around and saw James Potter leaning heavily against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. One hand was pressed against the wall at the start of the ice trail.

His eyes held utter determination that led Voldemort to believe that there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect his family.

Too bad it will not matter He thought to himself as he started back down the stairs to the now retreating James Potter.

They met once again in the living room. James stood in front of the destroyed coffee table, the Dark Lord now stood between him and the dinning room. He was mocking James; giving him one last chance to run. James did not move. He couldn't even if he wanted to. He was so tired and weak from their duel and Voldemort's barrage of attacks. James' last efforts of protection had eliminated his energy reserves. There was nothing more he could do. And they both knew it.

"Goodbye Mr Potter," Voldemort smirked as he raised his wand and uttered two deadly words: "Avada Kedavera," James held his head high in one last act of defiance as death rushed towards him. He crumpled to the floor and lay still.

Lily had just reached the nursery door when she heard James and Voldemort collide in the hallway. She turned just in time to catch her husband running into the living room. Every instinct in her body was telling her to bolt downstairs and give him some back up. However she knew her first priority was to get Harry away from here.

She ran into the nursery and looked around desperately for another way out. She placed Harry in his cot gently and went over to the window. The red head opened it and looked down hopefully.

"Way too far," she sighed and came back in the room but left the window ajar. Lily paced in the room for a few seconds then came to rest in front of Harry who was looking back at her like he understood everything that was going on. He still hadn't made a sound. They could both hear crashes and bangs coming from downstairs. Lily was still at a loss as to what to do. A muffled voice drifted up through the floor boards that could have belonged to any of the duelling men beneath them. A few moments later, a terrible scream rang through the house startling Lily. She prayed to anyone that would listen that it hadn't been James. The next thing she did, she did without realizing. She walked to the door as though expecting her husband to come bursting into tell her everything was alright. Just as she reached out for the door handle, a sheet of ice inched its way across the wood and hardened to reinforce it.

'Good' she thought 'Thank God your still alive James' Lily saw her breath ghost in front of her face and noticed that the temperature had dropped rapidly. She hurried back to Harry, picked him up and wrapped him in a blanket. Holding him close she watched the frozen doorway. About two minutes later she heard clearly the dreaded sound she hoped she would never have had to hear that night. The sound of death stampeding towards whom she knew was her husband.

An eternity passed in a second as she realized the man she loved with all her soul was now dead.

"James," Lily whimpered as she held back the tears that threatened to fall – she had to be strong for Harry.

"Daddy," The word was almost inaudible but Lilly heard it.

"Harry … you talked!" She couldn't help the sad smile that crawled onto her lips. The moment she had been waiting for ever since his birth had finally come at the most inappropriate time! Hearing Harry's first word! Lily was brought crashing back to reality when she noticed a sinister red glow coming from behind the iced up door. Voldemort.

Frantically, she ran to the back of the room where a tall wardrobe stood proudly against the back wall. She just managed to shove herself into it as the ice blew apart into a million tiny shards of glassed wood. With Harry clutched to her, she opened the wardrobe door a fraction of a centimetre so she could see what was happening. In the doorway stood Lord Voldemort. His figure shimmered slightly in the bits of debris that where still falling. She watched as he surveyed the room. She held her breath as his blood red eyes swept over everything in the room and came to rest on the slightly open window. He seemed to consider something for a moment before he spun round on his heel and left the room.

Lily waited a couple of seconds before she cautiously opened the door to her temporary sanctuary and stepped into what used to be her son's nursery. Lily held Harry so tight she was worried she was hurting him. She only thought for a split second before she moved. She ran as fast as she could to the now empty door.

However, just as she reached it a dark figure stepped in front of her. She skidded to a halt before she crashed into him. She gasped in fear when she saw who it was.

"Foolish child," Hissed the Dark Lord venomously. She backed away into the room, towards Harry's cot. "How dare you try to defy me," Lily laid Harry in the depths of the cot before she turned round to face Voldemort with hatred flaring up in her green eyes.

"You can not have him," She stated. Revulsion at the creature in front of her dripped from her words. She advanced forward to put some distance between her baby and the Dark Lord. She was shaking slightly but she stood her ground as Voldemort moved threateningly towards her.

"Stand aside," He whispered as he stopped in front of her. She looked up into his face and stated simply:

"No,"

She saw him move his arm to bring up his wand but she blocked it away with a well aimed punch. However, she couldn't stop the other fist that came at her from his other side. The magical force that he had packed behind it threw her sideways across the room. She hit the wall with her back and slid to the floor. She would have stayed there had it not been for the fact that Voldemort was now stalking towards her son. Lily forced herself to her feet and pushed her way forward to bock his path. He stopped when she stood in his way.

"Move aside you silly girl."

"Not a chance in hell," She spat and gathered all her strength to push out at Voldemort. She had sent a shockwave at him that set him back a few paces. Lily had just enough time to throw up a wall of fire as the Dark Lord sent a cutting curse her way. The fire blocked most of it but some of it managed to find its way through. She fell to the floor, her hand clutching her side. When she withdrew it, blood was smeared across it. She stood up one last time gasping for breath as the fire died down and Voldemort moved forward.

"You foolish child," He hissed as he raised his wand.

Time slowed down as Lily reached behind her into the cot and ran her fingers lightly down Harry's cheek. Harry disappeared in a swirl of blue lights and reappeared behind the floor length curtains of the window. Lily looked up and met Voldemort's eye defiantly after glancing at the end of the wand pointing directly at her heart. She readied herself for what was about to come.

"Avada kedavera," Sneered the Dark Lord. Lily Potter screamed when the sickly green light hit her and devoured the life right out of her very cells. The light left her eyes as she, like her husband, collapsed to the floor and lay silent and still.

Feeling the end was near Voldemort stepped over the body of Lily Potter and moved silently to the small cot in the middle of the room. When he found no one in it he turned furious eyes to look again around the room. At first he didn't notice anything. Then on second glance he saw the bottom of the curtain twitch slightly. He flicked his wand and the curtain fell down as if it had been torn away from its hangings. He found his prey. There on the floor, sat Harry Potter. He was staring up at the Dark Lord with a blank look on his face. Nobody noticed that the bracelet on his wrist had started to drift through the entire colour spectrum.

"So, this is Harry James Potter? The one who - the only one in fact - can bring about my downfall," He smirked "How can a mere child be of anything to me, let alone a threat!" Harry had not shown any response. "This is all you are,"

The bracelet had finally decided on a colour. Voldemort raised his wand for another killing curse.

"Avada kedavera," He uttered these two words for a third time that night. The band on Harry's wrist pulsed once softly an intense light but nothing else happened. The unnatural green light sped to Harry and hit him directly as he recoiled back slightly. He was still alive. The light surrounded him, gained more energy then rebounded off him to be thrown straight back at Voldemort. The light of the spell was now emerald. The Dark Lord once again screamed in agony as his modified curse hit him and he exploded in a cloud of dust. Unfortunately, the explosion was directed upwards and it caused the ceiling to be heavily damaged.

Suddenly Harry's bracelet pulsed more intensely and a flash of pure white light burst from it. Out of the light sprang a Golden Retriever dog that looked more white than gold. Harry stared at it as it turned and ran back to him. It grabbed him with enough force to hold him but not enough to hurt him then pulled Harry out of the way just a huge chunk of ceiling plummeted to the ground. The dog dragged the child over to the corner of the room away from danger and placed him against the wall. It then positioned itself so that it was lying in front of Harry, blocking any attempt he might make to move back into the rest of the room.

A few minutes later when everything had calmed Harry lay down and fell asleep. The dog stayed by his side until Hagrid came to the house. At which time it changed back into a subtle white glow and was reabsorbed back into Harry's bracelet. The band on his wrist stayed the same colour. White.

Present day

In a small house in Surrey, identical to its neighbours, lay a boy of fifteen in a bed that was nothing more than a beaten up mattress with a thread bare rag covering it. The teenager was about five foot seven inches tall and had messed up pitch black hair that was so dark it had a blue tint to it. He had a slim face that had seen too many hardships for his age. He was very hansom - if you overlooked the jagged scar shaped like a lightning bolt above his left eye brow. The boy had a well defined body hidden beneath baggy hand-me-downs. Had he had his eyes open they would have revealed emerald green eyes that held many secrets and a lot of power.

"Boy! Get down here now!" yelled his Uncle Vernon.

Harry didn't say anything but started to climb out of his bed. He hadn't been asleep. He'd been strengthening his mental barriers against attack. He had found he could do that a lot better than he could sleep.

Harry James Potter turned sixteen in two days time. When that time came he would become a nightmare to those who thought him weak or sought to control him.

On that night Harry Potter would declare his independence.


	3. Breakaway Part 1

The Hunter Chronicles

Independence – not subject to others, free

""**Sign Language""**

_((Telepathy))_

Chapter 2

Breakaway

What many people don't know about Harry is that he hates to speak. When he was younger the primary school he went to thought he had a speech impediment or that he hadn't learnt how to speak yet. This was highly unlikely seeing as he was five years old at the time. They sent him to different classes that tried to get him to talk but all he said was the bare minimum so that he didn't get punished by his uncle for wasting the 'nice people's' time. As much. However when it was requested that he should be sent to a therapist, the Dursleys out right refused because it would have cost them money. His uncle then proceeded to beat Harry when they got home for being 'greedy' and 'attention seeking'. Harry still remembers what happened.

Flashback.

He was six years old. They had just come home after that meeting. Harry, who had been walking behind his uncle, paused mid step when Vernon halted in the hallway.

"You," He snarled as he whipped round and brought his face to Harry's. "You have made me look a fool," Harry was slightly confused but he didn't show it – he knew it would be worse if he did, he just waited wearily. "Why do you have to be such a freak and different from everybody else. We give you a home and you don't even have the dignity to repay us be acting normal!" He almost yelled.

Harry could hear the TV in the front room and knew that his aunt and cousin would be watching one of their favourite shows. Like nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

The next thing he knew his uncle's fist had made contact with the side of his head and he saw stars as he fell to the floor at the foot of the stairs. He heard his obese uncle snatch the thick leather belt from around his humongous waist and slap it once against his beefy hand to test it. Vernon then grabbed Harry's collar and dragged him into the middle of the hall. He then pushed Harry's face into the carpet so his back became an easy target. Harry gritted his teeth as slash after slash came crashing down on his - already sore from last week's beating - back. He made no sound. When uncle Vernon had finished he picked his nephew up with ease and chucked him into the cupboard under the stairs. Harry passed out into blissful darkness as his head hit the wall.

End of flashback

Even now Harry only spoke when it was necessary. He had however decided to make a compromise. He had learned sign language so he could communicate with his special needs teacher. He had always played down his intelligence for fear of being reprimanded by his uncle Vernon because he was better than his cousin Dudley at something. He only ever showed how smart he was when no one else would be able to tell his relatives. Thus he joined the special needs class in school and a library out of school. Every free moment he could steal he would spend it down at the local library that wasn't far from where he lived. It didn't take him long to teach himself how to read and soon he was on to reading factual books that contained information on everything from the history of the Royal Family to biology and physics. He loved science. He had also found that he had an affinity for drawing. He would ask for scrap pieces of paper and just draw random characters that where often manga. He liked to draw manga because he didn't have to worry about getting the shape of their eyes wrong – he couldn't really draw proper people.

No matter how many people tried to get him to talk he knew he would only ever really talk to one person. That person had always been there for him after all the beatings and through the cold lonely nights under the stairs in his cupboard with a hug when needed. That 'person' was called Alex. She was like a sister to him and she had always appeared to him, and only him, whenever he needed her. However, she wasn't really a person.

Flashback

Harry was three years old. He was huddled in the corner of the cold cupboard when he noticed the braided bracelet on his wrist begin to glow a soft, warm light. He began rocking gently back and forth, wishing it would stop so his uncle wouldn't see it. Then a light that surely would have attracted attention from outside the door had anyone been looking, burst forth from it. Out of that light leapt a Golden Retriever dog. Although the cupboard wasn't that big the dog had no trouble moving around to come and sit in front of him. It lowered its head to him and licked the side of his face affectionately. Harry smiled his first smile real in a long time. As he looked into the dogs amber eyes he felt a connection spark between them.

End of flashback

Right from that moment Alex had always seemed to know what Harry was thinking. They had had many conversations through a telepathic link that had formed between them. At first it had mostly been Alex soothing Harry after encounters with his uncle. From these Harry had found out that the dog was female and, indeed, called Alex. Also that she did live (or rather exist) inside his bracelet until Harry needed her. Over the years Harry had started to talk to her using his mind, then he moved onto sign language as he found it easier to practice it that way. Alex had also helped Harry to learn how to read so quickly; he would read a book telepathically to her and she would simply sit and listen. Unlike his teachers at school, he didn't sense any frustration from her if he got stuck on a word. This helped him learn a lot faster.

""**Alex, we should get ready to go, we're going to be leaving in a day**"" Harry signed to Alex, who was currently hanging off the bare light shade fitting on the ceiling. Another thing he had discovered about her was that she was a sort of shape shifter. She could change into any animal she pleased. It came in handy on lots of occasions. All of her forms had identical eyes that where a unique amber with wisps of emerald green floating in them. Her current favourite form was a white faced monkey. Harry's favourite would always be the dog she had first appeared to him as.

((_Nah, we got plenty of time. And what are you talking about 'we' – I don't have any stuff – it's all yours! _)) She replied using telepathy.

""**Well, actually I meant help me, it still hurts**"" He signed back at her, which was difficult because his wrist still twanged from yesterday's run in with his uncle when he hadn't gotten downstairs quick enough.

Alex was the only person to whom he would ever admit that he was hurt – she'd find out anyway so he saw no point in lying to her. She had become a sort of mother/sister combination to him.

Alex didn't reply but swung down with ease onto the bed, then onto the floor and started to gather odd bits and pieces off the floor.

Harry had decided he would leave the Dursleys house. He didn't feel any sadness at this, in fact he was excited. He had been beaten and abused in one way or another by the three other occupants in the house for as long as he could remember and by the people who could find him there. Oh yes, he'd definitely changed his thoughts about Dumbledore.

Flashback

Harry had just left the headmaster's office having talked to him about the prophecy. He had just come back from the disaster at the Ministry of Magic. He stopped walking in front of the statue of the golden phoenix when he heard the professor's voice. He was talking, presumably, to the portraits. Albus' voice held none of the sadness or remorse it had just a few moments ago when Harry had been in the room. But it was what he said next that made Harry feel sick.

"Hopefully, this experience will serve to make him think again before he goes off by himself without my instructions or prior arrangements. He continues to be so foolish. However, now with that reckless Godfather of his out of the way, maybe now we can get some real work done in terms of training him."

He didn't sound like he was talking about a fifteen year old boy - anything but. Harry's face hardened into a blank mask. But his eyes could not hide the hurt, sadness and betrayal that swept through him. In that moment he vowed to never again to place another person in a position that would give them opportunity to hurt him.

Harry and Alex were on their own.

End of flashback

Harry had decided to only take with him things that he would need. As little as possible so he would be able to move at a moments notice.

""**Alex what are you doing?""** He signed with a grin on his face. **""We don't need all that stuff""**

_((But it's your clothes, you gonna walk around butt naked?))_ She paused before she put any more elephantine sized clothes on the bed and looked up at him.

""**Nooo, I mean we're just going to pack the stuff that we collected""** He signed **""Besides, it's not like I'm going to wear anything of _his_ any longer than I have to""**

(_(Fair point I guess. So what you gonna put on then?)) _She replied when she sat down on the end of the bed.

""**The stuff I nicked""** He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He had become quite adequate at shop lifting and had only been caught once but Alex had created a diversion and he had run as fast as he could. He didn't stop until Alex caught up with him and told him no one was looking for him.

_((Oh, the cool stuff! That's ok then. Besides, I think you look rather dashing in that kit))_ She said with a giggle.

Harry gave her an incredulous look and signed: **""Dashing! Where're you from? The sixties?""** Alex just cocked her head to one side **"Never mind""** He looked down and turned to look out the window at the street below. ((_You know, I can't wait to get out of here_)) He talked to her through telepathy ((_No one's going to tell us what to do anymore Alex, no one._)) His voice was quiet and resigned. Although he had suffered in this place it had been his 'home'. He wasn't even sure where he was going to go. All he knew was that he had to get away from here.

Alex sensed his hesitation and said, _((Harry, we don't have to go, we'll find another way))_ She jumped over to where Harry was standing and sat on his shoulder.

_((No))_ He responded _((We have to go. There's nothing left for us here)) _**""We're not even wanted""** He signed the last part because he wasn't sure if he would be able to keep his voice steady. Even through telepathy.

Alex didn't say anything, she just hugged his head. In doing so she covered up his eyes. This earned a little laugh from Harry.

_((There's that smile!))_ She cooed in a babyish voice.

""**You sound like a creepy grandmother""** He signed back to her when she hopped of him and onto the window sill. When she realized what he had said, she transformed into a panther and leapt on him, knocking him to the ground with an 'oompf'

_((I am not old))_ It was only then that he noticed that she had a slight American accent, and was very bad at feigning annoyance.

_((I never said you where old))_ He had to use his mind because she had pinned his arms. He couldn't help laughing though.

_((I know you didn't, not directly, but grandmothers aren't exactly known for being 'youthful' are they?))_ She bent down and licked Harry's laughing face. That wiped away his grin.

_((Ewww, that's disgusting!))_ Harry whined and whipped his face as Alex got off him. **""So you admit you're creepy though?""** He signed with a smirk. He dropped his hands to his sides when Alex turned her tail on him and vanished back into his bracelet. 'Well' He thought 'She's not going to be talking to me any time soon.' This was some what of a common occurrence between them.

The next time he looked at the luminous clock by his bed it was 11:45. Fifteen minutes until he turned sixteen. Just fifteen minutes. Alex had slowly begun to speak to him but she hadn't come out of her retreat yet. Harry had packed everything he would be taking with him into two bags. One was a black, extra large Puma holdall.

Inside there was weapons of all kinds. Included in this weapons stash where two nine millimetre pistols that had black handles and underside with a dull grey top. They would be strapped to his thighs. Those are what he had almost been caught stealing, along with its ammunition. He had become an expert marksman with them – he possessed deadly accuracy. He had had lots of experience. There was also a black, single barrel shot gun with a pull shaft reloader. This had taken him a while to get hold of. It was quite a heavy weapon but Harry could hold it steady enough with one hand to pull off a direct hit. He had numerous throwing knives that could be easily concealed amongst his clothes. One particular knife would be strapped to his right calf. It had a serrated blade that rested in a deep blue handle. It didn't have a hilt so it fit perfectly against his leg and his hand. He had used it many times. The rest of the knives were of simple design. They were constructed from a single peace of steel with holes punched through the part that was supposed to be the handle. Both sides were sharp but one side was instantly recognisable as the blade. The last of his weapons was a sword. It was simple and elegant. It had a double edged blade that came to a lethal point. The handle had been designed primarily for comfort. It was wrapped in a deep blue cloth, similarly to the knife, and it had a small disc of white gold for the hilt. The blade was silver. On one side it had Japanese symbol for justice engraved on the blade and on the other side it had the celestial symbol for Orion. The Hunter.

Harry looked at the clock again. 11:50. Ten minutes until midnight. His second bag, a black and grey Rockport messenger bag, contained less threatening items. Inside there was a mobile phone, data storage pen that would be very useful. He had a Ben Sherman wallet that held his Gringots key. Harry also had a laptop computer. He didn't really know if he should get it but then he thought about everything that had happened to get him to that point and he decided 'Oh what the hell'. There was an I-pod nano with base-boost natural sound in-ear headphones. He liked his music.

Harry also had some older items. Such as his photo album, invisibility cloak, marauders map, school books, broomstick and wand. The broom was in his holdall, so was the cloak, map and books. He was taking Hedwig with him too.

11:55. five minutes. Harry was wearing the only set of clothes that belonged to him – and they where the only ones to ever fit him perfectly. He did have two extra pairs of shoes in his holdall – a pair of black Converse Allstar trainers and a pair of mahogany Umbwe Rockport boots. Right now however, he was wearing Levis 501 jeans. A dark blue O'Neill t-shirt with a Biker's black leather jacket over it. On his feet were black and blue Octane motorbike race boots. He clutched a motorbike helmet that matched his boots in open fingered black gloves. He didn't know anything about fashion but he liked what he was wearing. He was going to need all of it tonight.

There was just less than two minutes left. Harry checked both bags then placed his wallet in his jacket pocket and zipped it up. He put the messenger bag into the holdall. Testing its weight, he found that for anyone else it would have been extremely difficult for them to carry, but for Harry it was ok. However he chose to shrink it, wandlessly, so he would be able to get away easier without being noticed. The teenager placed the now matchbox sized holdall in his other pocket and zipped it securely.

One minute to go. Harry let Hedwig out of her cage and told her to wait quietly. Checking once more around the room, under his bed and in all the draws and waited. If you're wondering how Harry had managed to get hold of all the things above, the answer is quite simple. He stole it. Well, not exactly, he 'borrowed' his uncle's many credit cards on numerous occasions in the past month, knowing the bill would only come through the post at the beginning of next month (August). He had made short trips to many different shops to get everything he needed. But he had been stealing the weapons for many years before this. All the while knowing he was being watched by members of the Order of the Phoenix. That's why he had his most prized possession delivered to a garage about five miles away. He had the keys of course.

Harry's uncle Vernon had once accused him of being greedy. Harry was going to show just how greedy he could be. Vernon's credit card bills would be perfect proof of that. It brought a huge smile to his face just thinking about it. Come to think of it, the letter was due in a couple of days time. He was tempted o stick around just for that!

Harry glanced at the clock. 12:00. time to go.


	4. Breakaway Part 2

""**Sign Language""**

_((Telepathy))_

From last chapter:

Harry glance at the clock. 12:00. Time to go.

Chapter 2 continued

Harry took a deep breath and, after scanning the room one last time, closed his eyes. When he breathed out he opened his eyes sharply. They where pure emerald and burned with an intensity that left no doubt about the power they held. He glared at the barred window and widened his eyes briefly. The effect was staggering. As if a wild hurricane had swept passed his window the glass and the metal bars shattered and blew outwards onto the street outside. Pieces flew everywhere and landed in neighbour's gardens and on their cars. One of the bars had enough force behind it to propel it across the street and pierce a window in one of the houses opposite. The explosion definitely got its due attention. Car alarms blared into life and Harry heard the one sound he hoped he would – his uncle Vernon stomping down the hall to his room. He wanted him to witness his escape so he looked back over his shoulder at the door and blinked. The thin, padlocked wooden door was blown off its hinges into the hall. The sad thing was that it missed Vernon.

'Humpf, looks like he's not going to get hurt after all – damn' Harry thought.

Harry spared no time though as Vernon flung himself into the doorway after his moment of being completely stunned at the sight of his nephew's door crashing into his hallway. Harry ran to the window, jumped up onto the desk, ducked his head and dived through the hole in the wall. When he cleared the window he spread his arms wide, did a full forwards summersault in mid-air and landed, crouched, on the grass below. He stayed like that for a beat the straightened up and sprinted over the gardens perfectly mowed lawn (he should know – he cut it!). He vaulted over the garden wall and ran, top speed, down the street. He didn't look back.

If he had, he would have seen a pair of coal black eyes follow his progress and their owner give chase.

Harry had been running for about a minute when he sensed a presence following him. His heightened senses had picked up their footfalls, the sound of their breathing and even their heartbeat. The latter was only faintly discernable. He recognised them all and he knew this would become a lot more fun than he had originally planned. It wasn't just what he heard it was the way that his pursuer was trying to conceal them that informed Harry, beyond a doubt, of the identity of the person behind him.

Snape.

Harry almost laughed. Not only was he running away from the Dursleys and aggravating the Order, but he was getting to do it all on Snape's watch – right under his crooked nose! Brilliant!

He knew he could run for a long time but he didn't know Snape's stamina so Harry decided to get rid of him as soon as an opportunity presented itself. The helmet was going to hinder any moves he made so he would have to store it. Harry knew there was a cobbled alleyway with plenty of temporary pit stops. As soon as he came to it, he ducked behind one of the many overflowing skips and crouched down. Snape was probably about half a minute behind him so he would have to hurry. Harry shrunk the helmet and zipped it up in his jacket pocket along with the rest of his items.

There was however another problem. Hedwig. She had followed him out of the window and was still following him now because he had forgotten to tell her where to go. She was easily spotted; Snape could follow her safe in the knowledge that Harry was near. As though reading his mind (which was probably the case) Alex appeared as a huge raven and started to fly away from him. She was hiding Hedwig's white form from view.

_((I'll take her on ahead, hurry up!))_ She sent back to him mentally.

He conveyed his thanks and set of again down the main street. Snape was still in hot pursuit and showed no signs of stopping. Harry had to get rid of him. He then remembered a small wooded area in the middle of all the houses and roads and an idea came to him.

Harry led Snape through the maze of houses and streets, always keeping close enough so his professor could see him but out of range of any spells he might decide to throw at his back. Finally, he saw his destination. Towering trees stood behind a small wooden fence that was simply two beams of long wood lain horizontally, held up by wooden posts at regular intervals. The gap between the two horizontal beams was large enough for a person to stoop under. The move was awkward but doable. The fence itself was up to Harry's chest. He was going to slip through the gap like he normally would have done but Snape must have noticed that he was slowing down because he sent a curse straight at him.

Harry felt a prickling on the back of his neck and dived over the top of the fence, narrowly avoiding the offending stunner. He rolled once on the dusty ground before setting off again. He stopped and waited behind a thick tree trunk. He wasn't really out of breath but he took deep breaths to calm himself anyway.

Snape had gotten through the low fence and was now walking forward slowly as he had lost sight of Harry. The teenager peeked cautiously around the trunk and frowned. Snape had cast a Disillusionment charm on himself but Harry glimpsed the slight distortion in the air as it moved through the man-made forest. Harry's senses picked up the tell tale signs that the adult was near. Like the scent of his sweat, the rasp of his breath and the crunching of dried leaves under his feet. Harry readied his stance. Snape was almost there.

Harry saw the distortion come round the side of the tree and he struck Snape in the stomach with his left elbow, Snape doubled up. Harry then carried the motion through with a sharp jab of his right hand to Snape's nose. That sent the man crashing to the floor. The disillusionment charm was dropped and Harry saw the blood streaming down his face. He smirked in satisfaction.

Even with a broken nose Snape still refused to let Harry go. Harry started running again as Snape scrambled upright and came after him.

'Resilient bugger' Harry couldn't help thinking.

Harry saw a low hanging branch that was approximately the same width as one of the parallel bars that are common in gymnastics. He slowed until Snape was just two meters behind him. At the last instant, before Snape could make a grab for him, he jumped and grabbed onto the branch. He used his momentum to swing himself over it, so he was behind Snape and kicked out as hard as he could with both feet. His boot clad feet slammed into the small of the professor's back and sent him sprawling to the ground. Harry landed lightly on the floor.

Harry watched as Snape pulled himself up off the floor and whip round to face Harry with undisguised hatred flashing in his eyes.

"You insolent brat, you have no respect!" Spat Professor Snape.

Harry just looked at him. He then turned tail and ran back the way he had come. Snape once again followed. Harry had had enough. He decided to end this petty chase. He spotted a back yard fence that was about two meters high, there was a tree standing just in front of it – less than a meter away from it. Snape was closing in. But the fence was closer. Close enough. Harry stepped up onto a rock protruding up from the ground and launched himself towards the tree. He put his right foot on the tree trunk and pushed himself to the left and onto the concrete fence. With his left foot pressed on the wall, he brought his right leg over his left, twisted round and lashed out violently at the side of Snape's head with his foot. The force of the kick was enough to make he man spin on his heel before dropping to the floor, face down and then lay still.

Harry touched down on the ground in a crouch and stayed there a moment to catch his breath. When he was certain Severus Snape was not going to be getting up any time soon, he stood up and walked calmly towards the exit.

It took Harry about another twenty minutes to reach his destination. He had arrived at a row of locked garages with white or blue corrugated iron doors. He walked to the one at the very end with Hedwig and Alex perching on top of it. He waved at them briefly before standing directly in front of the door and closing his eyes. He raised his hands out in front of him, palms up, slightly appart and opened his emerald eyes. He tilted his head down slightly but kept his eyes focused on a spot just above his outstretched hands. Suddenly a small speck of electric blue light appeared above his palms. The speck grew until it looked like a football made up of a twisting and shimmering electric charge. The orb had small purple discharges emitting from it. Up till now, Harry's hands had been lightly cupped like he was trying to hold some water in each hand. Harry quickly opened his hands flat and the electric ball shot forward like a bullet from a gun.

The door stood no chance and exploded upon impact, sending dust flying. When the dust had settled Harry walked forward into the dingy garage and gazed upon his prize. In front of him stood a blue and white Suzuki GSX R600 motorbike.

He thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He had fallen in love. He unshrunk his helmet, pulled it on his head and flicked down the visor. After seating himself in the leather seat he turned on the ignition, revved the engine and kicked up the stand. He pushed off lightly and the bike sprung forward and screeched out through the remains of the door. Harry drove down the deserted street with Alex and Hedwig gliding above him.

Finally, he was on his way!


	5. Overdue Goodbye

The Hunter Chronicles

Will – faculty of deciding one's own actions.

""**Sign Language""**

_((Telepathy))_

Chapter 3

Overdue Goodbye

Harry had been driving all night. It was now nearly six o'clock in the morning.

_((Harry, how much further? We're friggin' knackered up here!)) _Alex yelled at him through their mind link. Harry winced at the sudden sound of his friend. The boy glanced up towards the sky and replied briefly:

_((Not long. Sorry guys. I just don't want to be followed.))_

_(If you make one more wrong turn, I'll … do something))_

_((I'm not making any 'wrong turns')) _He replied indignantly _((I'm making sure no one can follow us!))_. He was only half right, and he knew it – he just hoped she didn't. He would never hear the end of it.

_((Don't even try it Potter.)) _Alex Drawled. _((You got lost. Admit it!))_

_((I did not get lost. I'm going from Surry to London. How hard can it be?)) _He questioned. _((I'm not lost))_

_((Yeah. Sure. Ok. Look, why don't you just pull into a service station and ask for directions?)) _She offered helpfully.

_((I don't need to - I'm not lost!)) _Harry groaned back.

_((What is it with men and asking for directions?)) Alex said, more to herself than anyone else._

Thirty minutes later, they had finally arrived at the outskirts of London. The early morning sun was throwing out warm reds and oranges that stained the brightening sky. Seeing that Hedwig would be less noticeable in daylight, Alex retired back into the bracelet for a well deserved rest. Harry slowed as he drove through the city that was steadily coming to life for the new day. Hedwig was flying far above him, dodging the tall buildings, happy to be back in the busy city. The teenager knew exactly where he was going first. Diagonally. Or, more specifically: Gringots Bank.

He travelled through the streets, going over what he was going to do and what he would have to say. The surrounding shops started to look familiar to him and he knew he would soon arrive at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry decided that he was close enough to walk. He parked the Suzuki in a nearby parking lot. Then he took off his helmet and withdrew his shrunken holdall from his pocket. Harry then proceeded to resize the bag and change out of his racing boots and into his Rockports. He checked that his Gringots key was still in his wallet and after confirming this, he shrunk the holdall - now containing the helmet and placed it in his jacket pocket along with the keys to his bike and his wallet.

He was ready. Harry walked out of the parking lot and down four posh looking streets. He then turned into some shabbier looking roads. About fifteen minutes later, Harry arrived at the door to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry pushed open the creaky door and stepped inside.

Harry had been in the Leaky Cauldron many times before, but this time was different. What was once a thriving, busy pub now resembled a dingy room with a sombre atmosphere. Fear and murk hung heavy in the air. The tables had few people sitting at them. One thing stood out at Harry: the fact that no-one was alone. There were at least two people together. Everyone seemed too intimidated to be outside solo. Word about Voldemort's return must have travelled more urgently among the magical population since the ministry incident.

He kept his head low and his scar covered as he made his way swiftly to the back door that led to the entrance to Diagonally. Harry gained a few weary glances. He was, after all, the only solitary figure among them. Once he arrived at the ally's entrance, he recalled the sequence of bricks that needed to be touched in order to open the secret passageway. He didn't use his wand. Harry raised his right hand and pressed the fingertips against the necessary bricks. He then stepped back to allow the wall to shift into the entryway.

Diagonally was much the same as the Leaky cauldron. It had only a small amount of people moving deliberately between the shops. Each person appeared to not want to stay out in the open longer than they had to. Harry decided to get to the bank quickly without attracting any attention.

Harry stuck to the shadows at the sides of the street as much as possible and kept his head low on his journey to Gringots bank. It was now seven o'clock in the morning and more shops where opening up as Harry passed.

Upon entering Gringots bank, Harry instantly noticed a change. There where more people in here than he had seen so far. He guessed it had something to do with all the dragons down here that made them feel a little more secure. The lone traveller moved to a free desk that had a goblin sitting behind it looking as unfriendly as ever.

"Can I help you?" The goblin asked in what Harry supposed was meant to be a friendly tone.

Harry cleared his throat then replied: "I need to make a few enquiries into my account,"

"And what would those be?" Harry thought that the goblin was familiar to him but he couldn't quite place it.

"Well, like how much is actually in it," He shrugged.

"How old are you?" The banker questioned.

"Sixteen"

"Hmph, come this way," With that, the goblin jumped down from his tall stool and strode to a door that was about five meters behind his desk. The room that they entered was much like the rest of the bank. It was lavishly decorated with gold and other precious materials. Harry was seated in front of a large oak desk that had an air of importance about it. The goblin had sat behind it in a large leather chair that dwarfed the small creature.

"Give me your key," It ordered abruptly. Harry had handed over his vault key when he suddenly remembered something.

"Hay, you're called Griphook right?" The goblin looked slightly shocked for a moment then said:

"It is unusual for wizards to remember a goblin's name. When have we met before?"

"You where the first goblin I ever met, you took me to see my vault for the first time when I was eleven." Harry said in an excited rush. Griphook had not gotten round to checking the key yet as it was still held loosely in his hand.

"Who are you?" He asked curiously

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Griphook's bushy eyebrows rose instantly to his hairline. He hurriedly checked the key and asked for Harry to confirm his identity. Harry simply lifted his fringe to reveal his scar. That was enough for Griphook.

"Mr Potter. We have much to discuss. And you are not going to like what I have to say." voiced Griphook.

It was now a quarter to eight and Harry was fuming. He had learnt that Dumbledore had been keeping tabs on Harry's money matters. He found out that Dumbledore would be alerted if he withdrew more that what was necessary for his school supplies every year. All this was on the Headmaster's orders. Harry also learned that his parents had left him more than just his school fund. He now had the Potter family vault, his fund vault and half of the Black family vault, which had been split between him and Remus Lupin, as stated in Sirius' last will. He would have never found out about this had he not come here that day. Needless to say, he was more than pissed.

"I can't believe this!" Yelled the irate teenager "What gives him the right!"

"That is why I decided to inform you," Responded Griphook in a more sedated tone "At first I thought that this was his way of protecting you. But when I learnt the extent of his actions, I realized that he just wants more control," Harry took a deep breath to calm his temper before saying:

"Can I transfer everything into a new vault? One that isn't under Albus' keep?"

"It is possible, yes. What would this new vault be called?" Harry thought for a moment the replied:

"Delta" At Griphook's inquiring look he added "It's my fourth vault,"

"If that is everything, we will have to issue you a new key –,"

"Actually, there was something else. Could you change half of it into muggle money?" Harry asked cautiously

"Yes," was the reply.

"How long would all this take exactly?" He inquired

"About five minutes," This time it was Harry's turn to be shocked.

'Wow' He thought 'That's fast!'

"Well ok then, let's get on with it!" stated Harry.

Twenty minutes later, Harry stepped out of Gringots bank with a small smile on his face. Along with the new key, he had received two credit cards. Wizards had copied the idea from muggles. The first was a plain gold coloured card that would access his muggle money it had a black strip on the back same as any other credit card. The second was red and had a silver stripe down the back. This was for his wizarding currency. They were all now securely in his wallet, in his biker jacket pocket. Harry felt quite chuffed with himself.

As the morning progressed, more and more people began to venture out into the alley. However, they where still a little skittish and didn't linger outside too long. It was now about half past eight. Harry had wondered idly through a few shops for a while but found nothing of interest. Now he was currently sitting at a window seat in Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream parlour. About a dozen other people where also in the parlour. Harry had decided against an ice-cream this early in the morning and was, instead, sipping at a coffee. He needed it to keep him awake.

At twenty to nine, Harry left Florean Fortescue's and started to make his way back to the Leaky Cauldron. He wasn't really paying much attention to who was around him. Suddenly, he was able to pick out two very familiar voices over the background chatter of the alley. Ron and Seamus. Harry could distinctly hear the Irish accent and he would know Ron's voice anywhere. Harry looked round and caught a glimpse of red hair coming in his direction. He darted into a back alley and pressed his back against the cold brick wall. He didn't want to be seen. Not yet.

The two boys walked passed Harry but didn't notice him. As they went by, Harry caught some of their conversation.

"I still can't believe he made you do that. I mean, he's acting like he doesn't care about anyone but 'imself!" Seamus was saying.

"I know!" Ron replied with a sigh "And when Hermione said something to him about it, he went nuts!"

"Anyway, let's just forget about it. Harry's not worth it." Seamus deadpanned.

The short snippet of information provoked a strange feeling in Harry. He was obviously hurt because they used to be his friends. On the other hand, he wasn't that surprised. Much.

Harry had been walking down the street for about another ten minutes, keeping an eye out for anyone else he knew, when he felt a change in the air. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Goosebumps appeared on his arms. He halted mid step and stood completely still. He strained his ears to go beyond the general noise and pick up anything unusual. As he concentrated he felt like he was going deaf. Sounds had dimmed and only his breathing and heartbeat where clearly audible. Then he heard it. A low hum that came from all around. Harry could see a slight shimmer in the air. In a split second the raven haired teen knew exactly what was about to happen and what he had to do.

He dived into another ally between two shops as dozens of deafening cracks split through the air. Harry peaked around the corner of the building and gasped.

About twenty Death Eaters had apperated into the middle of the street. They had begun to fire curses at anyone who was nearby.

In seconds, Harry had taken out his two nine millimetre pistols and had them strapped to his thighs.

He looked round at the Death Eaters again and saw that from his current position, he wouldn't be able to get good shots at any of them. He needed to get higher. Harry glanced up. The shop was only two stories high. The teenager climbed onto a bin and crouched low. He sprang up and latched onto the sill of a small window half way up the side of the shop. He brought up his legs so that he was crouching against the side of the wall. Harry pushed off again and grabbed onto the side of the roof. He pushed against the brick with his feet and landed on his back on the roof. The boy crawled over to the edge of the slated roof and looked down.

Things had definitely got worse. Bodies lay on the floor. People where running in all directions. Even as he watched, a shop window was blown out and three people fell to the ground dead. The raven haired boy stood up and pulled out both his guns. Harry took aim and fired. Every bullet hit its mark. However, he had only gotten off five shots and five Death Eaters had crumpled before the rest of them turned their attention upon him.

Harry dived to the roof as a cutting curse was sent at him. He got to his feet and jumped off the edge of the building. He landed on the street below and without missing a beat, pulled out his guns as he straightened and walked forward. He fired as he advanced on a Death Eater. That one died before he hit the ground with a bullet embedded in his skull. His actions brought the fourteen remaining Death Eaters out of their stupor. They proceeded to attack Harry with multiple curses. Harry quickly returned one of his pistols to its holster and raised his free hand. The fourteen streaks of red, blue and yellow stopped in mid air. They twisted and withered as though in agony then dissolved into nothing. Taking advantage of their slow reactions, he shot seven more of them.

'Seven to go' He thought as he took refuge behind a bench.

He checked his ammunition before he moved again. The bench exploded mere seconds after Harry cleared it. He fired a shot into the spine of the culprit. Harry ran down the street, curses hot on his heels. He killed two more Death eaters as he ran past them.

'Four left' He heard Alex say.

A small crater appeared in front of him as a spell missed him. Harry stopped and turned around to take note of where the remaining attackers actually where.

Two stood off to his left in front of a shop that had a group of people cowering inside. One, the furthest away, was to his far right. The one that was closest to him was about eight meters away on his right. That was the one who had created the mini crater now behind Harry. The five of them just stared at each other for a minute. Harry had returned his weapons to their holsters before he had turned around.

Harry did a quick draw and hit the Death Eater that was furthest away with a bullet. He ran to the one that was closest to his right as the two on his left started firing curses again. He was two meters away from the ill fated person. Harry ducked a curse, jumped and smashed the hand holding the gun into the back of the Death Eater's head. He crumpled to the floor.

Harry turned and ran at the remaining two. With lightening reflexes, he dodged curses coming from the panicking survivors. The raven haired teen leapt into the air and kicked out three times at one of them. One kick landed in his stomach, the next in the chest, the last hit him in the chin and the force threw his head back, snapping his neck. Harry did a back flip in the air to avoid a spell. When he landed he quickly walked over to the last remaining Death Eater. This one wouldn't go without a fight. Harry had to dodge three point black spells to get to him.

After he avoided the third curse, he elbowed him in the stomach. Then he punched him in the side of the head. Harry pivoted round then grabbed the Death Eater's head with his right hand on the back of his head and his left on his chin. Harry jerked his hands sharply and saw the fear in the masked face of the Death Eater as he heard the neck snap.

The last of the twenty Death Eaters crashed to the floor.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and for the first time, looked around Diagonally to asses the damage. Many of the shops had broken windows and doors. Glass and other debris littered the street. Bodies lay motionless all over the pavement; many of them had been slaughtered as they ran for their lives. Few people had had the courage to fight back. The whole ordeal had taken place in less than ten minutes but Diagonally now had the appearance of a war zone. People were slowly starting to emerge from their hiding places. Harry still hadn't moved.

"Harry!" Harry turned at the sound of his name. It was Ron.

Harry didn't reply but regarded Ron with a cold glare. "Hay, are you ok? That was –,"

"Forget it," Harry interrupted bitterly "I'm not worth it remember?"

With that, Harry turned and ran towards the Leaky Cauldron at top speed. After he went through the entry way, the Order of the Phoenix finally started to arrive.


	6. Smooth Criminal

The Hunter Chronicles

""**Sign language""**

_((Telepathy))_

Chapter 4

Smooth Criminal

Innocent – guiltless, without experience of evil.

Two weeks had passed since that day. Two weeks since Harry Potter had run away. For two weeks Harry had not been seen by any civilian. Muggle or wizard. But he had been very busy.

Harry had found a modest apartment in the north of London that suited his needs comfortably. It has one bedroom, one bathroom, a fully functional kitchen and it was semi open plan so he had plenty of space. The apartment was decorated in welcoming shades of beige, cream and brown except from the kitchen and bathroom, which where mahogany and blue. The bedroom had a king sized bed that dominated the whole room. The colours where a little darker that the rest of the place but still beige and brown. The young man was slightly paranoid about someone finding him so he had carved numerous protection runes and symbols into the wood frame of the main doorway Harry loved it.

Harry had kitted himself out with a whole new wardrobe that was practical yet fashionable (well he thought so anyway). The raven haired teen's laptop had been set up in the corner of the living room, as well as all of his weapons. He never got any visitors, nor did he expect to, but if anyone did decide to drop by they would look like the weapons where merely for show. Alex had been given loads of new stuff that would accommodate most of her smaller forms that she had taken a liking to: cat, dog, monkey, chameleon etc … She had been ecstatic and declared her undying love for her teenaged friend for days on end.

Harry was currently sitting at his computer, checking his e-mails. Oh yes, he had contacts. The e-mails had come from the organisation that he belonged to. It was called Faridoon Aquila which literally meant 'thrice strong eagle'. This liking of three was reflected in most aspects of the company. Every team had three members. There are three leaders known as Generals or Governors. Candidates had to complete three years of training to qualify for a placement. Members could advance through three ranks; Tyro (beginner), Soldier (intermediate) and Captain (advanced). Even their head quarters complied on the fact that it had only three floors.

Every member (including the Governors) are considered outcasts by the rest of the world so they have just three aims; to protect, to understand and to survive. Harry truly felt right at home with them.

He was a soldier. The teenager had been spotted by a scout when he was seven years old and had been trained by them until he was ten, Alex too. Faridoon Aquila had been – and still are – his family. Since the whole organisation only consisted of sixty people, it was a very close knit group. Everyone knew everyone and because they where all in the same situation every member was treated as an equal. They received enough discrimination and segregation from the rest of the world it wasn't needed there to.

As Harry closed down the laptop, he glanced at his left shoulder. At the top of his arm was a tribute to his loyalty and gratefulness to Aquila. It was a red and black tribal eagle. The design was simple; an eagle in mid flight with its wings spread wide. It was small, but it meant a lot to Harry.

Harry had just received a new e-mail that revealed new information as to the whereabouts of a small group of demons that where harassing a town on the outskirts of London. They where vampires.

The soldier collected his equipment: sword, two guns and a wooden stake. He also put on a necklace that had a solid silver cross pendant. Harry strapped the guns to his thighs, the sword to his back and placed the stake in a modified blade holder on his belt.

""**You coming?"" **Harry signed to Alex.

_((Sure!)) _Alex withdrew into the bracelet. When they where ready, Harry made his way to his motorbike that was parked in the lot outside the apartment block.

The raven haired teen secured his helmet then sped off into the night. The time was about eleven thirty – perfect for early vampires. The small town was just outside London so it only took Harry about twenty five minutes to get there on his bike. When he arrived all was quiet. But he knew better than to think these vampires would go a night without feeding on easy prey. It was a Friday night so people would be out enjoying themselves. As was the pre weekend tradition. Harry cruised along to the local graveyard to begin the hunt. The soldier parked outside the rusted gates, took off his helmet and crept inside. It was extremely dark but Harry's keen eyes adjusted automatically. Harry had gone but a hundred yards when he saw a shadowy figure pass behind an old tombstone. So it begins.

Harry felt a prickle run up his arms and turned around just in time to block a blow that was aimed downwards at his head. The soldier looked up to find himself face to face with a very hungry vampire. Harry quickly brought up his leg and did a high kick to the man's face. The vampire stumbled back slightly and Harry took advantage by driving his left shin into the man's ribs – knocking him back a little further. Harry then slammed his right fist into the tall vampire's chest. This sent the demon sprawling to the leafy ground. Harry leapt forward taking out the stake as he went and plunged the sharp wood into the vampire's motionless heart. Pain flashed across its rigid face before he disappeared in a wisp of dust.

The soldier stood and looked around, his emerald eyes glowing slightly. Intel had suggested there should only be four of them. Harry was about to move on when he caught movement out the corner of his eye. He heard a roar that could only come from the mouth of a vampire and turned to see another one launch itself off the top of a gravestone, straight at him. Harry cocked his head to one side as the man approached. The vampire's arms where still spread wide from his leap, thus offering no protection against the wooden stake that crashed right into his dead heart. Again, a cloud of dust drifted gently to the ground.

Harry then saw two more vampires running in his direction. He readied himself for another confrontation. It came. One aimed a right hook at his head but the armed boy ducked it easily. The second lashed out with his foot at Harry's ankles – which said boy jumped over with little effort. Harry struck the one who had tried to punch him, in the jaw with a powerful fisted backhand. He then punched away the second's attacking arm and sidestepped another kick. Harry ended up behind the vampire and kicked the back of his knees which sent him crumpling to the floor. Having dropped the stake earlier, Harry unsheathed his sword and, in a split second, sliced off the kneeling vampire's head. The dust had barely touched the ground before Harry turned on the last vampire. But he was no longer there!

The soldier looked around quickly and spotted the beast running away through the different sized headstones. Harry sheathed his sword and set off after the fleeing demon. The boy took out his left nine millimetre pistol and took aim. He fired twice: hitting the target in the leg and arm. The man fell to the ground, withering in agony.

Harry knew that bullets wouldn't destroy a vampire, but it still hurt. The raven haired boy walked the last few meters, stalking his prey. When he finally arrived, he grabbed the front of the vampire's shirt and dragged him into a sitting position. The vampire cried out in pain. Harry, still holding the man, looked back at the way he had come and held out his free hand. Suddenly the fallen wooden stake flew right into his outstretched hand. The teen smirked and turned back to the terrified vampire, ready to strike. As the weapon plummeted forwards, the vampire brought up his left arm in a vain attempt to stop the inevitable. Harry caught a glimpse of something on the man's pale arm when his shirt sleeve slipped down. But it was gone in a haze of dust when the pointed stake pierced the vampire's heart.

Even as the dust settled, Harry stared at the same spot with a frown on his face. What he had seen had troubled him deeply. It was only for a second yet Harry could have sworn he saw a tattoo upon the cold skin. It was a mark he knew all too well. The Dark Mark. _His_ mark.

After Harry had checked the rest of the small town and found nothing, he returned home. He had been silent ever since he had seen The Dark Mark upon the vampire's arm. The teen knew that that could only mean one thing; Voldemort had assimilated vampires into his ever growing army. The question now, however, is how many. Even though it was nearly four in the morning, Harry headed straight for his computer and relayed everything that had happened that night, including his hunch about Voldemort, back to Aquila via e-mail. With that done, Harry got ready for bed. It was only when he climbed beneath the warm covers did his exhaustion take over. The boy fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

It was always the same dream. It would start off with images of Sirius falling through the veil (along with other events that took place that trip). The surroundings would fade then change to that of a darkened room that looked like an attic. The scene was never in colour or had sound, nor was it all shown in sequence. No. The dream presented everything about this particular part in black and white – like an old movie – with the only sound being a shouted incantation that came from a woman who stood in front of a large window. Images would flash in front of Harry's eyes in quick succession, barely giving him time to register what was being shown. The images where of: a candle, a crystal being held, a raging storm, his mother, his father, Sirius, Remus and someone who looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't name. The last image would be an aerial view of five people stood at different points on a pentagram with what looked like a baby (he supposed this was himself since his parents where also present) sat in the middle. The incantation would be said whilst the images flashed across Harry's mind. The dream had only started to happen on a regular basis when he had successfully defended his mind against attacks from Voldemort, so he knew it came from his own mind and not an outside intruder. Harry had heard the spell that many times he had memorised it. The soldier knew it all meant _something _but he didn't know exactly what. Harry had to find out more about it.

The next morning Harry awoke to a brilliantly sunny day and an e-mail awaiting him on his computer. It was from Aquila. It basically confirmed his suspicions and said that more and more dark creatures where submitting to Voldemort's reign. There had been numerous sightings of The Dark Mark upon demons by many different teams over the past few months. However, all the demons branded with The Mark that had been vanquished didn't seem to be acting as though under orders, they where just doing what they always did. In fact, the only indication of a link to Voldemort _was _The Dark Mark.

The rest of the message was pretty much just Aquila's thoughts on the situation and Harry was relieved to find that he was not alone and that at least someone (other than Alex of course) shared his concerns – and his fears. At the bottom of the e-mail was an invitation to Aquila's HQ to meet with the Governors later that day to discuss tactics and other information that was too delicate to be relayed through e-mail. Even on a link as secure as theirs. Harry smiled at the thought of going back to the three storey building that was smack in the centre of London. He had only been there a couple of times since his acceptance into the organisation. The boy hadn't been there at all since he had started Hogwarts. The teen couldn't wait.

Going to HQ had another advantage for Harry. Although it only consisted of three levels, it contained a library to rival any other in the world – including Hogwarts. It not only contained any muggle book you could want, but any magical one too. You could truly find anything you wanted there. The inventory didn't take up much room because they had everything stored on computer databases and by the off chance that something you where looking for couldn't be found in there, there was always the option of the internet.

Harry had until three o'clock before he had to meet with the leaders, so he passed the time by eating, practicing some gymnastic moves that he hadn't quite got the hang of yet and writing down the incantation he had heard so many times in his dreams. Finally the time came for Harry to go. He left his apartment at a quarter to three and headed for Aquila headquarters on his Suzuki bike.

The journey only took ten minutes so he took his time walking up to their office. The building was of fairly modern design that could have been anything from a bank to an office block. It was slightly dwarfed by the surrounding buildings. Nothing gave away the true nature of the work that went on within those walls. The plain cherry wood front doors led onto a reception area that was wide and airy with clean marble floors and a few comfy leather couches. Three elevators stood to one side and above the large front desk, hung multiple clocks showing the time from every major city around the world. Faridoon Aquila was global. This could have been the reception to anywhere: a hospital or even a cruise liner; secrecy was implanted into the walls. Harry nodded and smiled to the three secretaries as he passed. He received pleasant smiles in greeting. Although he didn't come here often, he was well known – and not for being the boy who lived. Harry stepped into the pine wood lift and pressed the button for the third floor. He arrived in a matter of seconds. The lift doors opened onto a long, uncarpeted wood floored corridor with modern electric lights fitted into the walls. Doors stood at intervals along the walls but Harry continued on down the corridor. Finally, he stopped outside two double doors made of the same wood as the front door. It was simply labelled with the words; Governor's Office. Black letters on a gold plaque. There was no door handle but when Harry walked up to them, they parted to grant him access. He stepped inside.

The Governor's office was the first place that would actually make you wonder about what went on in here. It was quite a large room with a black oval table to the right with black leather chairs surrounding it. This was the conference table where members would meet to receive orders or discuss topics such as new recruits. To the left of the doors were some more comfy leather couches lining one of the walls. Straight ahead was a large window that covered about a quarter of the entire wall. In front of it stood a single desk that was large enough for all three Generals to work behind comfortably. The walls where covered with different objects. Some where weapons such as swords and guns and others where photographs of members that had died. That was part of the reason that Harry liked it here; every member was remembered and honoured no matter who, or what, they where.

Harry walked up to the main desk that had all three leaders sat behind it.

The person on the left was a man called Katashi. He was Chinese and you could tell that English was not his first language because he had a lilt in his accent. He was in his sixties but still had a great physique since he had served in Aquila for over forty years. He was the most military minded of the three leaders.

On the far right was a woman in her early forties with beautiful flame red hair that fell in gentle curls around her fair skinned face. She had crystal blue eyes that could show so much kindness but also more passion than you could imagine. Her name was Alannis. She was a fire elemental and when she used her more powerful attacks her hair would turn into real fire. She was the wisest and smartest of the three.

The person that sat in the middle was a man called Jack. He was in his fifties, had greying brown hair with hazel eyes and, technically, he wasn't alive. He was an angel. Kind of. He had magnificent white wings that were rarely seen because he could retract them into his back. He had been in service since he was fifteen and it was only ten years before he was killed. Then, right in the infirmary, his body had changed into a mass of silver orbs that reformed his body. He had been like that ever since. He had unicorn blood coursing through his veins because his father's animagus form was a unicorn – that was why he hadn't died. He was the unofficial leader of the leaders.

Harry smiled when he approached and received varied greetings in return.

"Hello Harry. It is good to see you again. It has been too long," Katashi spoke first.

""**Yes I know. I haven't had much chance to come back here."" **Harry signed back; they all knew sign language since there was a couple of deaf and mute agents – another thing that made Harry feel comfortable here.

"How's Alex?" asked Alannis. As if on que, Alex appeared at Harry's side as the golden retriever and gave a cheery bark that made everyone smile. The two females had always got on well together.

"Please sit, we have a lot to discuss and, unfortunately, it's not all pleasant." It was Jack who spoke. He had a slight American accent that went almost unnoticed now. He motioned towards the oval table and everyone took a seat on one of the chairs. Alex curled up on one but listened intently to the conversation.

""**Have you heard anything from Voldemort?"" ** Harry signed.

"Not much. But what little information we have managed to gather worries us greatly." Alannis began "We believe he is trying to recruit anyone and anything that might give him an advantage over the rest of us."

""**Does he know about Aquila yet?"" **Harry signed.

"Hopefully not, but we cannot even be sure of that. Our operatives have not been able to get anywhere near his inner circle, thus have learned nothing of value. We had to pull them out early because they had started to arouse suspicion. He is definitely keeping tight lipped about something and I feel that it is big." Katashi sighed.

"What about you. Have the Order told you anything other than that prophesy?" inquired Jack. Harry had confided in them about Dumbledore's prophesy.

""**No sorry.""** But then he remembered something **""Wait! There was the attack on Diagonally a couple of weeks ago. He only sent in about twenty Death Eaters and I'm pretty sure they where all normal, human wise anyway. Why didn't he let rip with some of his new recruits? Do you think he wants to keep them a secret? I mean what's the point – a secret army? It doesn't sound like something he would do.""**

"We agree. If he had vampires he would most likely have sent them in just to show he has them and to scare people. It is strange that he would choose not to." Jack replied

"We have already alerted our off shore agents to be on their guard and to report back to us if anything relating to Voldemort crops up in their lands." Katishi informed.

They sat in silence for while, each lost in their thoughts. Suddenly there was a beeping sound and a female voice came over the internal communications system.

"Sorry to disturb you, Generals. There is an urgent message from Jacob in Glasgow. It's about Voldemort." Immediately everyone sat forward in their seats, their undivided attention now focused on the transition.

"Patch it through." Jack ordered. At once a large painting on the opposite wall shimmered and was replaced by a large screen. The screen flickered into life and an image of a black man in an office like room appeared on the flat plasma screen. This was Jacob.

"Jacob, what's the news?" Alannis asked.

"I have just returned from a meeting with some informants that have contacts among the vampires absorbed into Voldemort's ranks. The information is still a little sketchy but it seems that he plans to use a new kind of potion he has recently invented. It reanimates dead cells by giving them a huge boost of energy. He wants so bad to increase the size of his army that he's not stopping at the living. He's bringing the dead back to life." His words had made an impact on everyone in the room.

Everyone knew that there was no way magic could bring people back from the dead. As if reading their expressions, Jacob elaborated, "However, there is a slight problem with the new foot soldiers. The potion doesn't bring them back all the way. They are no more than zombies. They are only capable of basic motor functions also they have the most basic of instincts and needs. The most prominent being the need to feed. The only way to kill them is by causing sever damage to the brain."

Harry supposed it was a good thing that he had always really liked Resident Evil.

Alannis spoke "But that is forbidden. To disturb the passed … it's disgusting."

"Yes but this is Voldemort. He just doesn't care. He'll do whatever it takes to win this war." Jacob replied in a sombre tone.

"Have you anything else to report Captain?" inquired Katashi.

Jacob looked back at them with a saddened look in his eyes "Unfortunately yes. Voldemort is also planning to send his newly reawakened army on an all out attack to prove their 'powers'."

"Where is the attack to take place?" Jack said quietly.

Jacob looked at Harry through the screen and said: "Hogwarts."

Harry was numb for a minute as he stared blankly at the image on the T.V screen on the wall. He glanced around the room at the other adults who looked grimly back at him. The teen glanced down at Alex, who didn't say anything but Harry knew she was probably going to tell him to go and stop it, even if they didn't particularly like most of the people who where there. Her eyes held a glimmer of determination and encouragement, Harry couldn't help smiling slightly. Alex always had a way of bringing out the best in Harry. Or his talent for getting into trouble, depending or your point of view. Same thing really.

""**When is the attack going to happen?""** Harry signed to Jacob.

"September the first. Most likely at the welcoming feast because everyone will be together." The Captain replied.

Harry turned to Jack and signed: **""Let me go. I know I can do it."" **He had a fire in his emerald eyes.

Jack considered him for a moment before replying. "I'll have teams seven through fifteen accompany –,"

""**No. I can do this on my own.""** Harry interrupted **""You know I can. Don't risk any of the other teams. You'll need all the members we have if Voldemort really is enhancing his army.""**

"Harry, we have no idea how large his attack force will be. You could be vastly out numbered!" Alannis tried to reason with the boy, but Harry had his mind set. He was going to do this alone. He had to prove to Dumbledore _and _Voldemort that he was not a pushover and that he was going to fight. But for his own reasons.

""**I'll be fine – I know what I'm doing. You trained me. It's time you had a little faith in the job you did. I know I do."" **Harry looked at all four of the adults – including Jacob, who would have a say in weather he went or not as he had gathered the information.

The three Generals looked at each other seemingly having a silent discussion. After a couple of minutes, Katashi looked back at the screen and Jacob nodded. Then the Chinese man said: "Alright then, Harry. You have a go. You have two weeks to prepare." Harry smiled and nodded in confirmation.

The raven haired teen turned to the screen and put his right hand to touch his chin then he moved it out in front of him. That was the sign for thank you. He did the same to the three Governors.

"I'll try and find out as much as I can before you go and send it to you, Harry. Good luck." Jacob promised and nodded respectfully one more time to each of the occupants of the room before the screen went blank and changed back into the painting once more.

Harry was now in Aquila's library, sat at a computer, on the second floor. He had gained permission to use the company's resources for his research before he left the General's office and had been down here for about four hours. It was now eight o'clock in the evening. He had found nothing. Absolutely nothing regarding the spell he had witnessed during his dreams.

He was about to give up when a phrase amidst the jumble of text stood out at him. 'Phasmatis Patronus'. The phrase was green, indicating a link to another page. He clicked on it.

Harry was instantly taken to a page that was on the computer's database and the information had to have been taken from one of the oldest books in existence. It was written in Latin but it had translations. The page talked about spirit protectors of various types of magic. Elements. Harry scrolled down and came upon an image that made him gasp slightly. It was an aerial view of five people stood at points on a pentagram with one person in the middle. It was exactly like the image in his dream except his parents weren't in it. The people where just models, showing the positions of everything that was needed. Harry read the whole text twice. It had included a similar incantation to that which Harry had heard. It talked about the spirit protectors and how they would occasionally lend their powers to people that they deemed worthy. The powers would eventually be returned once the recipient died. He also discovered that the person who was to receive the powers had to be placed in the centre of the pentagram so all the energy would be focused on them. The baby in Harry's dreams was him. He was in the centre. Harry had received elemental powers. He was an elemental.

As he had found out, being an elemental involved a lot of things. More than he would have originally thought. He could control fire, water, air – which, he supposed, was why he was such a good flyer. Shockwaves – that was why he was able to blow things up that easily. Lightning – his moods sometimes seemed to influence the weather. Telekinesis – fairly obvious since he willed his stake to his hand in the graveyard. Then there was earth. Harry had always been quite close to nature and animals seemed to be familiar with him. But that was all he could think of that included that particular element, but still … it would most likely come in handy.

Harry leaned forward onto the desk, put his head in his hands and breathed deeply. Alex put her head in his lap, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

He didn't hate his parents for doing this to him. He just wondered if he could do them proud by using their gift to do the best he could in getting rid of Voldemort. Harry didn't want to fight because of that prophesy. No. he wanted to because it was what he did. He had been doing it since he was seven years old. If Harry was honest with himself, then yes, he did want to make sure his parents hadn't died for nothing. He had always known he was different and some part of him liked it. Harry knew he couldn't hate his mum and dad. At least they had cared enough to give him a chance.


	7. Walking the Line

Disclaimer:- I own nout.

""**Sign language""**

_((Telepathy))_

The Hunter Chronicles

Chapter 5

Walking the line

Young – not far advanced in growth, life or existence.

Harry was sat in the middle of his living room, back at his apartment. He was sat Indian style with his eyes closed and his breathing shallow yet controlled. The teen was absolutely still. In his mind was a lonely blackness that held nothing perceivable.

The air around Harry suddenly distorted for a second before translucent wisps of blue light materialized out of thin air. They twisted and danced like snakes on some invisible barrier that was separating them from Harry. However, if you looked closely, you could see that all the wisps where connected by an almost unnoticeable white film. They _were_ the barrier.

Suddenly, one of Harry's throwing knives detached itself from the wall opposite and hurtled at Harry. It struck the shield but was deflected away with a shimmer of the screen. Two more knives threw themselves at him with force. Both never made it through. All of Harry's throwing knives came to life and repeatedly attacked the shield surrounding the boy.

The shield took every hit but it was beginning to fail. Every strike invoked a longer shimmer which meant that it was taking longer to recover. The shape of the shield, which used to be a dome, was bending in and buckling under the stress of the onslaught of small knives.

Harry frowned in concentration.

One of the blades came at top speed towards the shield and slammed into it. Hard. It smashed through with a flash of light and sliced across the top of Harry's arm, near his shoulder. The wound wasn't deep but it stung. At once, all of the attacking objects halted in mid air then fell mutely to the ground. The shield flickered then disappeared.

Harry hissed in frustration. Alex appeared and curled up on the couch.

""**I'm never going to get this!"" **Harry signed to her angrily. He had been practising his shield for nine days and he still thought it was unacceptable.

_((Don't worry, Harry! You'll get it. Look at it this way – before you couldn't project your magic through it, now you can. That's how you got the knives to go at you like that, remember? But if you ask me you could have used something a little less … sharp.) _She eyed his wound while she tried to comfort him.

""**Yeah but it can only hold them off for a while."" **Harry signed back.

_((You'll get it.)) _Alex repeated firmly.

It was now the morning of September the first and Harry had just finished packing all the ammo he had into the compartment under the seat of his Suzuki bike. He had both nine millimeter guns strapped to his thighs, shot gun on his back and knives hidden within his clothes. His sword was sheathed in a holder on the side of the bike. He was ready.

""**Alex, are you going to take the bike up to Hogsmead via phoenix fire?""** Harry signed to Alex who had recently taken to changing into a phoenix and transporting him places by phoenix fire after seeing Fawks do it. She could be a bit jealous sometimes.

_((Yeah, go on then. I'll stay with it too, so you don't have to worry about it getting … oh I don't know … dusty.)) _ Alex responded cheerfully. She could sense Harry's excitement at the upcoming mission and it was starting to rub off on her.

It was now ten minutes to eleven on September the first and Harry stood in the shadows of platform 9 and ¾ waiting for the train to leave. He was on a heightened state of alert as he watched students board the Hogwarts Express. Harry knew Voldemort's attack was planned for the Welcoming Feast but he just wanted to make sure nothing happened before then. After all, the information was still a little sketchy and not all the details had been ironed out. Jacob had not been able to gather much more intelligence than he had already given. Only a few things had been confirmed; the attack was going to take place on September the first and Hogwarts was the target. Everything else was down to best guesses. Harry didn't have his motorbike with him since Alex had fired it to some place in Hogsmead that would be able to conceal them both until Harry arrived. The brunette stepped further into the depths of the shadows when he caught a glimpse of platinum blonde hair. Draco Malfoy.

'Great' Harry mussed 'just what I need – Death Eaters.'

His apprehension grew slightly when he spotted all three Malfoys in the crowd of students. Harry was hit with a sudden realisation. Voldemort was going to send undead soldiers to attack Hogwarts, which contained the sons and daughters of his Death Eater followers. Surely he wouldn't want to sacrifice future slaves! Harry's mind raced. These new undead creatures that Voldemort had raised from the grave, could easily be replaced as long as he had a supply of the potion and bodies. They didn't really have any special abilities except the fact that they couldn't be killed (again) by any spell. They would be perfect for a type of recognisance mission; force his opponent to show their defences. Maybe this wasn't supposed to be an attack as such. Just a ploy to see what Dumbledore would do. But wait. No. That wasn't something Voldemort had done before. What would make him try something like this? Of course! Suddenly an idea came to Harry - the attack on Diagonally! Voldemort's Death Eaters where all eliminated by one single person. Voldemort probably wanted to know if that person was working for Dumbledore.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts when a whistle blew and the scarlet train started to move. Quickly, but still keeping to the shadows, Harry darted to the end of the platform. He waited until the end of the train went past him then grabbed onto the hand rail that guarded a small platform at the very end of the red steam train. Harry hopped onto it and crouched down with his back against the train, hoping (though not really caring) that no one saw him.

As the station faded into the distance, Harry pulled out his I-pod and placed the headphones into his ears. He knew this was going to be a long trip so he might as well relax. The teenager pressed the play button and sat more comfortably as 'Allstar' by Smash Mouth began playing in his ears. He loved this song.

It was dark when the train finally started to slow down. Hogsmead station wasn't far away. Harry stored away his I-pod and stood up. The raven haired teen waited until the train slowed more then jumped. When he hit the ground, he rolled many times to discharge the force of the fall. When he finally came to a halt, his head was spinning. Harry waited a few seconds as the dizziness left him then got to his feet. He looked around. He could just make out the Hogwarts' Express in the distance and decided to follow the track to the station. Hopefully, when he got there, all the students would be inside the castle.

About thirty minutes later, Harry arrived at Hogsmead train station. The Express had already left, as had the not-so-horseless carriages. He moved to get a better view of the castle. The last of the first years where just getting out of the boats and many torches where lit within the castle. He knew that the attack must be soon, he just didn't quite realise just how soon.

Harry started to look for Alex and his bike so he could make a quick exit after the battle.

_((Alex! Could you PLEASE give me a hint as to where you are! This isn't even funny!))_ Harry yelled telepathically at her after ten minutes of searching the station.

_((Over here, you big baby. I don't know, you try and lighten the mood, but some people!))_ Alex responded with an exasperated sigh. It turned out she had been hiding in a bush near the lake. Harry was about to go on a rant about how this was _not _the time when he heard movement behind him.

He froze instantly and whipped round. Alex had also gone totally quiet. Now was definitely not the time for jokes and she knew it. Harry peered into the near by tree line and noticed that it was shifting slightly, as though disturbed, but nothing else. On impulse he turned his head towards the castle and gasped softly.

From this distance they looked like beetles crawling in the grass but Harry could tell, from the way they trudged and stumbled uncontrollably up the sloping path, that they where no insects. They were the undead army of The Dark Lord. Not only where there at least a hundred of them, they had a massive head start on Harry. He wouldn't be able to catch them in time if he just ran. But, thankfully, he had another option.

Harry sped towards the advancing armada with his Suzuki quivering gently under him. As he approached, he took out one of his nine millimetre pistols and fired at one of the creatures that had managed to reach the oak front doors. Most of the zombies where still making their laborious journey up to the castle but some had gotten through the doors.

The teenager heard multiple screams from within the walls and realised that the attackers where inside the Great Hall.

Harry finally reached the front doors after weaving through (and taking out a few) creatures and pulled up the front wheel of the bike so he could make it up the steps. More zombies were now inside so Harry continued to shoot as many as he could on his way to the Great Hall. Harry turned his bike sharply to the right and sped into the hall.

Most of the students where huddled against the wall furthest away from the doors but the teachers and prefects where trying to fend off the vial beings with useless curses that merely knocked the creatures briefly to the ground.

Harry continued to drive into the Hall, firing mercilessly at the zombies closest to the students. With one hand still firing the gun, he lifted his other and waved at the four long house tables. They rose into the air then crashed to the floor on their sides and after skidding they came to rest in front of the students and teachers – offering some protection. Stunned, all the staff and pupils watched the newcomer.

After eliminating more zombies, Harry skidded to a halt in front of the overturned house tables. He then took out both his nine millimetres and stepped off his Suzuki. The raven haired boy didn't look back as he raised his arms and fired.

Every bullet hit its mark and one after another the zombies dropped to the floor, they did not rise again. But they just kept coming. There seemed to be no end to this onslaught. Harry had already reloaded four times and he was beginning to run out of ammo. The ground around his feet was littered with spent cartridges and bullet casings. He was now using the ammo he stored under the seat of his motorbike.

Harry nearly sighed in relief when one zombie stumbled into the hall and no more followed it.

'Finally!' he thought.

However, his relief was short lived when two clicks replaced the customary bang of a bullet being fired. He tilted the guns upwards so they pointed at the ceiling and saw a gap in their barrels. He was out of ammunition.

'Shite!' was the most prominent thought running through his mind at that point.

There where only about twelve of the creatures left and Harry had to keep them away from the students. Harry returned his pistols to their holsters, advanced on the nearest one and hoped for the best. He knew they where attracted to movement so he constantly changed his position and moved from one to the next as quickly as he could to make sure he had their full attention. He was down to three but he was surrounded.

Harry grabbed one of the zombie's arms and rolled over its back, taking the arm with him and crashing its head into the stone floor with a sickening crunch. He looked up from his kneeling position just in time to duck out of the reach of another grabbing hand. Harry jumped up and caught the offending arm between his knees and then did a back flip, dragging the creature through the air. The teen slammed it into the ground then, with his feet, snapped its neck. One left. Harry ran at the last undead creature and unleashed a barrage of punches at the tall one's torso. When it hunched over slightly, he leapt into the air, twisted his whole body round and lashed out with a lethal kick across the thing's head. A crack resonated through the Great Hall as the last creature's neck broke.

Harry landed gracefully and looked around. The floor was littered with bodies, bullets and blood. Harry closed his eyes and turned his palms to the ground. Suddenly every one of the motionless corpses burst into flame. Burning flesh assaulted everyone's senses and many students gagged behind Harry. After a couple of minutes the fires died down and all that remained where scorch marks and ash.

He thought it was over but in the distance he heard a low, raspy, growl. He tilted his head to the side to try and hear more but he didn't have to listen. He could see it. The thing crawled over the top of the door frame and up the stone wall. It stopped, turned its head and faced Harry.

It didn't have any eyes so Harry didn't know if it could see him. Most of its 'face' was taken up by a huge mouth that had deadly looking teeth jutting out from it at all angles. It looked like a tiger that had been purposefully deformed and turned inside out with its tail slashed off. It was a reddish grey in colour and instead of toes it had long sharp nails that resembled those found on a bear only bigger and longer – and from the way it was using them to grip onto the wall, they where probably a lot stronger too. It opened its mouth and a long, thin tongue whipped out. The tongue was about the same length as its body, maybe a little longer.

It jumped down from the wall and landed with a slight squelch. Harry supposed Voldemort wouldn't stop at just raising humans back from the dead. He was positioned half way between it and the students. He remained absolutely still, thinking desperately. His shotgun was still strapped to his back because he hadn't used it on the other creatures. However it only carried two bullets. The rest where stored in his bike and Harry didn't know if he should risk trying to retrieve them because he had no idea of how fast this new … thing could move.

Harry didn't have any more time to decide because the creature whipped out its tongue and galloped at him. It was faster than he had anticipated. Harry pulled out his shotgun in an instant but the thing was already too close. It lashed out with its tongue and batted away the gun. The weapon flew out of the teen's hand and skidded away. Harry started to do continuous back flips to try and get back to his bike and his sword (he didn't have time to turn and run). However, the creature's tongue darted out and caught him on the side of the face as he was coming down from another flip. The boy crashed to the floor on his back, blood trickling down his cheek from a shallow cut on his face.

Out of desperation, he shoved his left hand out at the creature and it froze mid leap. It was just suspended in mid air above him. Harry, breathing hard, threw out his right hand in the direction of his fallen shot gun and his weapon was summoned to him. He caught it and lifted it up to point at the hideous creature above him. He fired a single shot and its head exploded with the force of the point-black impact. Harry was splattered with the thing's blood and its lifeless body landed partially on top of him.

Silence. Harry sighed tiredly as he stood up and turned around to face the rest of the school for the first time.

The first person he saw was Hermione. She had truly grown into a beautiful young woman and she was staring at Harry with a strange look in her eyes. He gazed back at her, straight in the eye, trying to find something that would show that she didn't share Ron's views about him. That she was still his … friend. They had definitely developed a connection over the past five years and he could only hope that he hadn't destroyed it all in one night. Had Dumbledore not spoken, then Harry might have noticed the fact that Ron was stood on the other side of the group and nowhere near Hermione. But, as it goes, Dumbledore did and Harry didn't.

"Harry! My boy! Where did you learn such … vicious forms of muggle combat?"" Dumbledore didn't give Harry a chance to answer (not that he would of anyway) "I must ask you to come with me." His voice didn't hold any indication that it had been a request. Harry simply looked at him defiantly before glancing one last time at Hermione then turning back to his Suzuki motorbike. He had just reached it when Dumbledore spoke again. "Harry, I must insist that you come with me." When Harry didn't respond, the old man sighed and continued "Very well. You leave me no choice. If you will not come willingly, other measures will have to be taken." With that, about thirty Aurors stormed into the Great Hall and lined the walls, surrounding Harry. The boy turned to glare at Dumbledore, who had something akin to triumph glinting in his eyes. "I shall ask you just one more time, Harry. Come with me."

Harry considered replying for a moment before he moved towards the stationary bike once again.

At once the air was filled with multiple cries of numerous curses as all the Aurors fired jinxes to try and stop the boy. With lightning fast reflexes, Harry leapt high into the air, about ten feet. The wizards on the ground had to avoid being hit by each other's curses. Some did manage not to get hit. Some didn't. Harry twisted in the air to avoid a few more curses. He gathered all his magic and when he landed he smacked his hands on the stone floor and sent shockwaves that where so strong they cracked the stone ground out around him. Everyone was knocked to the floor. Harry then stood up and flicked his arms out to the sides. Two walls of fire sprang up on each side of him to block any attempt at attack. The brunette then pivoted round and threw out his right hand at the overturned tables. A bolt of electricity shot out of the ends of his fingertips and the wooden tables exploded upon impact. He made sure nothing touched Hermione.

Harry didn't have time to go back for his Suzuki as he ran from the Great Hall. He hadn't meant to actually kill any of the Aurors but they would be pretty pissed at him if he had. He didn't really want to stick around and find out.

He ran towards the main front doors but more Ministry Aurors appeared to block his path. Harry skidded as he turned around and ran back the way he had come. He whizzed passed the Great Hall, which was still in uproar, down many corridors and round many corners. He was running flat out but shouted orders told him that the Aurors where still behind him. The teen turned a corner and slid to a stop when Dumbledore stepped out of a doorway a few meters ahead. Instantly, Harry bolted back down the hallway but he could sense something following him. He risked a glance over his shoulder and his eyes widened slightly.

Dumbledore had sent a huge tidal wave of magic after him. He had no idea what it would do to him if it struck him, not that he was going to let it. Obviously. The wave of purple and green light crashed against the walls as it rounded corners, trying to catch Harry. It acted like a fast flowing river racing towards the sea.

Harry increased his speed even more but the magic still pursued him. It was less than a few meters behind him. He had to get away.

As he ran, Harry concentrated hard then threw his arms out to the side, just as the 'river' was about to engulf him. A massive explosion erupted as the two forms of magic collided. A blinding white light pulsed throughout the corridor and magic soared up into the air like fireworks. The shockwave sent Harry crashing to the ground. He slid a few feet before coming to rest.

The small boy didn't move for a couple of seconds but then groaned and shifted as the shock faded gradually. He opened his eyes blearily and looked back. Scorch marks stained the stone walls where the explosion had forced magic up them. His ears where ringing softly.

Harry heard rapid footsteps coming in his direction and forced himself to his feet. He moved as fast as he could to a door at the end of the corridor. Upon arrival the teen burst through it and found stairs, he took them two at a time. Finally he reached another door at the top and rushed through it.

He was at the top of the Astronomy tower.

Harry paused for only a second to get his bearings but the sound of running footsteps behind him jolted him back into action. The brunette ran to the wall and climbed up onto it. He had just stood up again when the footsteps stopped and a voice spoke.

"Stop!"

It was Dumbledore.

"Harry, get down from there and come with me," He spoke slowly as if talking to an over emotional child.

Harry didn't respond, nor did he turn around. He could sense about eight people behind him. From their magical signatures, he guessed they were: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and a number of Ministry Aurors.

"Harry," Dumbledore tried again. When the boy didn't respond he continued, "Harry, there is a fine line between good and evil. I think you have been coerced into crossing it by your connection to Voldemort. Your magic is out of control. I can help you."

Harry gazed out at where the night sky touched the tree tops of the Forbidden Forest. Professor Dumbledore was right; there is a line between good and bad. But he was also wrong; the old man couldn't help him.

Harry took a deep breath and closed his emerald eyes.

"I walk the line." His words were quiet but they drifted to the ears of everyone present. With that said Harry spread his arms wide and fell forward.

As Harry tumbled towards the ground, his bracelet pulsed softly and a huge black raven burst from it. Alex circled back under him and Harry grabbed onto her feathery back. They swerved upwards just before they hit the ground.

_((Alex, did you get my -))_

_((Yeah, yeah I got it. Your beloved bike awaits you at the gates to the castle grounds. Is that bike all you ever think about?)) _Alex laughed.

_((Yep, pretty much!)) _Harry replied, cheerfully, telepathically. He had to grip the feathers tightly as Alex did a barrel roll in the air.

Suddenly, Harry's mobile phone started ringing. Since he was still on Alex's back, he had to be careful not to loose his grip when he took out the phone. He was a little concerned as to who was calling because everyone who had his number knew to use text since he didn't like to talk. They would only call if it was important. He put the object to his ear and answered quietly.

"Harry? It's Jacob. You have to come straight back to HQ as fast as you can." Jacob's voice was shaking slightly. Now Harry was really scared – nothing could make Jacob show fear so openly. "We have more information about Voldemort's next move. This could be it."

AN:- Hay, sorry it took so long but I'm in Y11 now so coursework is pilling up hehe  dunno when I'll be able to upload next but shouldn't be too long (she says).


	8. One Last Dance

Disclaimer: see 1st chapter.

""**Sign language""**

_((Telepathy))_

The Hunter Chronicles

Chapter 6

One last dance

Hope – expectation of something desired.

The sun was just about to start a new day when Harry Potter finally turned his Suzuki motorbike onto the street leading to Faridoon Aquila's headquarters. He slowed down slightly when he smelled something … odd. Something … different. Harry was about 10 meters from the front doors when he was thrown backwards off his bike by a huge fireball as it burst out of the three storey building in all directions. He didn't know how far he travelled but when he hit the ground he hit it hard. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet things could have been a lot worse. As things go, he merely blacked out for a few seconds.

When he came to, he pulled off his helmet and looked back towards the first place that had welcomed him into a family that thrived within its walls. Well, what was left of it anyway. What was once a proud (albeit squattish) building was now a crater with a crumbling ruin falling apart before his very eyes.

The bruised brunette clawed to his feet and staggered past his beaten and burned bike, past the debris littering the pavement and road, past the faceless bodies of the unfortunate people who had decided to get an early start on the day, towards the remains of his HQ.

Harry collapsed onto his knees when he reached the edge of the shallow crater. A golden retriever, Alex, appeared at his side and stood firm as Harry leant against her for support. Two sets of green eyes swam in unshed tears.

Suddenly there was a flash of green that made everything glow eerily for a moment. When it had passed, Alex nudged Harry's face upwards. What he saw made his blood run cold. The Dark Mark. It hovered arrogantly for a few minutes before it was violently slashed out of existence, like smoke in a high wind. Harry lowered his hand back to the ground.

It took Harry a while to get back to his apartment on foot. But there was a surprise waiting there for him: Katashi, Alannis and Jack were waiting for him outside his door.

"Harry." Alannis breathed, relieved to see that he was ok. Harry ran the last few steps towards them and was grabbed into a fierce hug by the woman. When he pulled back, she answered his unasked question. "Most of them are fine. We managed to get the majority to safety before Voldemort struck." Harry was relieved to hear that not everyone had perished but still … "Three teams didn't make it." Alannis spoke quietly but Harry heard her clearly. He guessed their rule of three finally came back to haunt them.

"It turns out that Voldemort did know of us." Katashi spoke now, "I suppose it was only a matter of time before he came looking." Harry nodded in understanding then let all 5 of them (including Alex) into his apartment. When they where all comfortable, Jack spoke:

"I know it might not be the most appropriate time to bring this up but we have to plan our next move," he paused to receive their agreements before continuing. "Because of his latest stunt, every single member of Aquila is willing to fight, now more than ever. They're furious." By the sound of his voice, Jack was barely controlling his own anger.

""**I know how they feel."" **Added Harry

"So what are we going to do about it then?" asked Alannis, "we have to fight back but we know for sure that they outnumber us, by how many is impossible to determine!"

"He's got everyone in both Muggle and Wizarding worlds on edge – it wouldn't take much for things to get out of control; for people to break and start turning on each other." declared Jack.

""**Why don't we take the fight to him?"" **asked Harry, with a sudden bout of inspiration.

"What do you mean?" inquired Katashi

""**We always wait for things to come to us. Why don't we do it differently this time,"" **Everyone was looking at Harry intently as he signed his idea. **""Let's seek him out and force him on the defensive. This way, we get to set the time and place – to some extent anyway. And we'll be ready!""**

The three adults considered it for a moment before Katashi spoke: "It sounds … ambitious. It is not something Aquila would do, but that may just give us the upper hand. Also, we know that Voldemort's on the look out for new power sources – that was what Jacob was going to tell you; he has now extended his search from army recruitments to magical objects."

"The element of surprise might be exactly what we need. Especially with our limited resources." said Jack thoughtfully. He liked the idea.

"Alright Harry, we'll do it your way." Alannis said as she stood. Everyone rose with her. "We'll figure out the details then spread the word." She gestured towards Harry's computer with a small smile, "Muggle ways only." She then smiled at Harry reassuringly before turning to head out the front door. The other two leaders followed her after saying their brief goodbyes to Harry.

Harry would have argued that he wanted to help set things up but he needed his rest. Even he had to admit that.

It had been four days since he had seen his three commanders. Ever since then, he had been receiving updates on their plan via e-mail. Harry hadn't left his apartment much in the past four days – he was constantly preparing for the upcoming battle. His personal shield was getting stronger everyday but it was still not up to his standards. And that frustrated Harry. Alex was preparing by making sure she was capable of transforming into every animal form imaginable. This lightened Harry's mood a little because he really couldn't see how a frog was going to be much help at all. When he told Alex this, her reply was simply: "You never know."

The e-mail that Harry had received that morning had made him slightly nervous. That date had been set. The plan was already in motion.

It would happen three weeks from now. Autumn equinox. Harry thought the date quite fitting; as day equalised with night, Harry would show Voldemort that he was just as strong as him.

Everyday, Harry trained. He wanted to be able to look Voldemort in the eye before shoving something straight through the empty space where his heart should be. Preferably the sharp end of his sword. However, with two weeks to go, Harry received a surprise visitor.

There was a timid knock on his door at two o'clock in the afternoon. Harry opened it to find a very worn out and dishevelled looking Hermione Granger wearing muggle clothing and carrying a small, half empty backpack.

"Harry … I … I found you!" she seemed more surprised than anything. "I can't believe it!" Harry had said nothing (as usual) yet and was still shocked at seeing his friend. He quickly shook himself out of his stupor and stepped aside to let Hermione enter. The runes on his doorframe made no objection to her presence so he knew she meant him no harm.

Hermione looked curiously around the open plan studio apartment, in particular the weaponry on display. Harry showed her a seat and she took it gratefully. He rushed to get her a drink, finding one he handed her a can of cherry coke. He apologised for not having anything better as he sat down opposite her.

"No, no, it's fine. It's the first proper thing I've had in a while." At his questioning glance she elaborated. "I've been looking for you. Ever since September the first."

"Why?"

"I don't really know. But something Dumbledore said just didn't make sense to me," She looked lost all of a sudden – she had never questioned her headmaster before and she wasn't the rebellious sort of person so she was pretty much on new ground here. Seeing this, the golden retriever appeared out of nowhere to lay her head gently on Hermione's lap. "I think it was when he said … something about vicious forms of muggle fighting. It probably wasn't even that. I guess it was the way he was talking to you more than anything. Like he was scared or … jealous of the power you clearly have under control." She looked Harry straight in the eye "I do know for certain that you stopped that explosion from hurting me because when it cleared, everyone was covered in dust – some people even got hurt. But not me." She smiled and thanked him quietly.

Harry didn't really know what to say; he had never been thanked for doing what he did by anyone other than Aquila members, so he merely nodded and smiled back.

Alex only wished that dogs were capable of rolling their eyes.

"How did you find me?" Harry was bursting to find out. On the other hand, he really shouldn't have expected anything less of Hermione. She was, after all, brilliant.

"I used a scrying crystal."

"Those exist?"

"Yeah! It didn't give me an exact location – in fact it just pointed to London – but it was a start. The rest I had to do the old fashioned way. My dad," her voice cracked a little here but she carried on regardless. "My dad had a friend that owns a couple of the new apartment blocks around here, so I asked him if anyone looking like you had moved in recently."

"How'd you know I'd pick an apartment?"

Hermione shrugged lightly "You seem like an apartment kinda guy. That and it makes sense; they're more low profile than houses."

Harry laughed at the common sense that was Hermione through and through. "Aren't your parents gonna worry about you being this far from school?" he asked.

Hermione's eyes glistened and she looked down at the golden head on her lap. She petted the dog until she regained her composure. Then replied. "I … I don't think they're going to find out any time soon." When Harry didn't respond she continued, "Erm …" she cleared her throat, buying time before she actually had to tell someone, "They … m … Voldemort -" she couldn't hold it anymore. The damn broke and tears streamed down her face. The teen buried her face in her hands, her shoulders trembling. Harry immediately moved next to her. As soon as she felt his presence, she clung to him like her life depended on it. Harry was startled slightly but then gently encircled his arms around her. He listened to the distressed girl ramble about "not being able to do anything to stop it" among other things. As she started to calm down, Harry slowly rocked her in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Apparently it was because she became peaceful once more.

As he held his best friend, Harry realised something. He didn't mind Hermione finding him, he didn't care if she found out everything about him and he liked talking to her.

Harry also realised that _he_ was capable of giving comfort simply by being there for someone. That thought alone gave him a reason to be strong and something (possibly someone) to fight for.

Hermione had stayed with Harry for the remainder of the two weeks, it hadn't taken her long to realise what Harry was planning to do – his constant training had kind of given it away. She insisted that she be a part of it and she made him train her as well. They trained together and Hermione proved to be quite a good fighter. She had become adept at sign language as well after Harry confided in her about his communication preferences. She didn't make a big deal of it in fact she was eager to learn it because she though it would come in handy in the up coming battle: "Well, think about it – we'll be better off if we can communicate in a way that the enemy knows nothing about!" It did make sense to Harry so he agreed to help her learn.

It was now the night before they were due to leave and meet up with the rest of Aquila's forces. He was more nervous than he thought he would be. Hermione noticed this.

"Harry, it's going to be ok. We've done all we can to prepare for this – you know that." There was a timid desperation in her voice for Harry to believe her. He turned around to face her. They where stood in the living room gathering all the ammunition and weaponry they could.

""**You really think so?""**

"I do." Her voice was stronger now. Her belief in her own words hadn't changed at all – she still needed him to believe her to really believe it herself.

""**You can still back out. You shouldn't be a part of this, it's too dangerous. I … what if something happens?""**

"Then it'll happen. I'm not letting you go out there and have all the fun!" that was all she said before going back to what she was doing.

"It's time." Jack stood behind Harry as he gazed out at the misty horizon. It was nearly dark and Harry idly thought that it would have been a magnificent sunset if he where in the right place. Not this place. The sun was slowly melting against the land as it threw out roaring waves of red across the evening sky. Clouds had begun to gather overhead but somehow, they just added to the serene atmosphere. The barren landscape before him offered a perfect location for an attack. Especially one of this magnitude. Harry had long forgotten the name of this place but he didn't really care – he hated it already. He knew it would be the grave of many tonight. Too many. It could be described as a desert but the ground was hard, cold, and jagged cliff faces encircled one small corner of this open expanse, offering false hopes of sanctuary and shelter. It was in a narrow opening between two such cliffs that Harry now stood with an army at his back; an army willing to fight to the death for their fallen comrades and their freedom. All the remaining members of Faridoon Aquila were there. Each one of them was armed to the teeth. No matter how hard Harry hoped and prayed, no matter how many times he told Hermione that it was ok – that he was ok – some part of him still had major doubts. There was that little nagging voice of common sense that this small number (less than 100) couldn't possibly win against an armada that Voldemort would surely have forged by now. No matter how much courage and passion they held.

"The message has been delivered. Voldemort should be here soon." Jack didn't have to ask what Harry was thinking – they were all pretty much thinking the same things. The plan to get Voldemort to come here was actually quite simple: a message containing the location of a powerful and deadly artefact had been slipped to one of the many Death Eaters eager to please their new master and had naturally been conveyed to the Dark Lord. The message, of course, was false. Mostly. While there was something powerful and deadly lying in wait for him, it was most certainly no artefact. This plan had a lot of pit falls; the main one being that Voldemort wouldn't bring his entire army. This would mean that even if Aquila did win this battle, there would still be reinforcements around the corner to finish off the weakened forces.

Finally Harry turned around to face his troops. Harry stood before them all like a born leader; his face showed nothing of his previous fears, only the determination and strength that all who knew him had come to expect. Everyone was still, awaiting his command. The green eyed teen could see every single face and he knew them all by name. The first person he saw was Jack. The older man's eyes shone with pride at his one time student, who had evolved from a meek child into a fierce warrior and devoted comrade. He gave Harry a small nod of encouragement and that was all he had to give for Harry to know that he was now in charge. Next, his gaze fell on Alannis. She who had been like a mother to him all these years. She who had shown him so much more beyond a world of nights filled with bloodshed and blades. Alannis had taught Harry how to cook and care for things when they had first met. They had spent numerous times in her garden planting and watering. The garden they had created had no real design to it; they just planted what they thought would look nice. This kindred spirit had also tried to teach him how to play piano because she would often catch him staring at her hands as they danced across the keys each time she played intricate melodies. However, this was a talent that Harry was not blessed with for his fingers would never be as nimble as they could have been; their joints and knuckles were stiff and crooked due to the amount of punches he had thrown over the year and the scraps he had been in. Katashi stood next to her, rigid and ready for battle. To Harry he seemed like the ultimate role model for military soldiers. It was him, more than anyone else, who had taught Harry how to fight. Really, everyone had a hand in teaching the newcomers but it always seemed that Katashi took time out especially for Harry to train him not only to kill but to have honour and integrity. Katashi saw potential in the young lad that was found all those years ago, he had become quite attached to the brunette as though he was the son he never had in some sentimental way. Not that he would admit it to anyone – Katashi didn't do sentimental. Although this man was never one to take orders easily, he couldn't have been more proud to follow Harry's lead. He couldn't really think of anyone better suited to the role of leader in this upcoming battle. No one knew Voldemort quite like Harry. Lastly, Harry's eyes came to rest on Hermione. She was armed much like the others, with guns, blades and a sword all strapped to her person. But it was what she held in her hand that made Harry smile a grim smile. A broken wand. She had snapped it in two just before they had left Harry's apartment. She didn't want to use it anymore because it reminded her of a time when Dumbledore had complete control over her and a time when she valued rules above all else. Hermione had grown a lot in the short time she had been training under the diligent teachings of Harry. He had taught her so much in such a short space of time that seven she had trouble taking it all in. Even when they had done Dumbledore's Army secret lessons, she hadn't seen Harry like this; he had so much knowledge about how to fight and how to use various weapons that it astounded her. When they hadn't been training, they had talked about anything and everything. Well, she talked and Harry signed. It had started out that way – him using sign language as she quickly learned to understand it – but after a while, he started to relax and say more things aloud. It had started off slowly at first with only the odd world or phrase here and there, but then it had grown into full blown conversations without him signing a single word. Harry didn't know it but the feeling deep inside him was a yearning for something more than the strong friendship they had wielded between them. In the back of his mind, he wished that if only one soul was to leave this place when morning came then it would be hers.

Harry was at a loss as to what to say – he had never been in front of this many people. He had never thought about what he would say to these people before they gave their lives for him. He didn't really want to say anything. He was saved from his moment of indecision by the sound of thunder in the near distance. Harry turned to face the empty horizon to find the sky dark and full of storm clouds.

_((Great)) _he thought to Alex _((that's all we need))_

_((Don't worry; rain can be a blessing when used to our advantage))_ Harry didn't respond as a fork of lightning sliced through the air. Alex – a black stallion fully tacked up (AN: fully tacked up just means reigns and saddle – I go horse riding so I though this would be a nice touch lol) said. Not a second later, heavy pellets of water began to fall around them. They were drenched within minuets. Harry breathed deeply and gently closed his eyes. He was trying to sense if Voldemort was near. What he got was something completely unexpected. His eyes snapped open as he whipped around to motioned jack to his side. Naturally, the other two commanders and Hermione followed. Shock was apparent on each of their faces as they saw a long line of figures; four across and many hundreds long, marching deliberately towards them.

"Who are they?" Hermione asked from her place beside Harry. No one could reply for no one had the answer. As the strangers grew nearer, it was clear that they were not enemies – their weapons were sheathed and their armour was loose. Everyone merely looked on as they finally came to a halt in front of Harry and the others. Nothing happened for a moment and in that time Harry could discern many different kinds of faces. Then, one man stepped forward. At first glance he appeared to be human but upon closer inspection, he was in fact an elf. He had long platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes, as well as the instantly recognisable pointed ears. He carried his helmet under his arm and had a bow slung over his shoulder with a satchel loaded with arrows strapped to his back. When he stopped in front of Harry, he bowed slightly and looked Harry in the eye.

"My name is Rio. We come to offer our assistance." His voice was calm and honest.

"What army is this?" Jack questioned, there was no mockery in his tone just genuine curiosity.

"We are all that is left of those who stand against Voldemort and his minions." Harry could understand this. The army that stretched out before him contained not only numerous elves, but also vampires, centaurs, dwarves, elementals, witches, wizards, muggles, goblins and dragon trainers

"Thank you," Harry managed to scrape past his astonishment "But why are there muggles here?"

"They have also been affected by Voldemort's search for power; many of them have been attacked by his Death Eaters and just barely lived to see this night." Harry couldn't really think of anything else to say (neither could anyone else for that matter) so he merely nodded his gratitude and stepped to the side to allow the travellers passage into the relative safety between the two cliff faces. The rest of Aquila's force took his lead and let them pass. The two forces mingled together to form one united army. As the last few passed, seven very familiar faces walked up to Harry and Hermione. Fred, George, Charlie and Bill Weasley walked with Kingsley Shackelbolt, Tonks and Remus Lupin. Harry couldn't hide the smile that grabbed his face when he saw them.

"Hay Harry," both Fred and George said together "We heard you might need some help and thought who better to win a war then two of the best tricksters in the world"

"Ignore them, they only heard about this through us," Bill said as he motioned between him and his brother, Charlie, who also cut into the conversation:

"Yeah, I was asked to come here to help with the dragons while he," he pointed to Bill "had something to do with the Goblins. I tried my best with the dragons we've already got but I don't know what good it'll do – they should be here soon but I don't see them anywhere."

"Thank you, we can use all the help we can get," genuine gratitude flooded Hermione's voice.

"We don't work for Dumbledore anymore," was the last thing Lupin said as the newcomers walked passed Harry to join the rest of the troops.

Another hour passed as Aquila forces integrated themselves within the new army. When Harry next looked at the full force of people behind him, he was pleased to see that the Aquila members were not separated from the new ones – everyone was willing to fight side by side with each other. All united against their common enemy and had only one goal in mind – victory. Harry couldn't put it off any longer; he knew he had to say something to them all, even with the newly acquired army they were still bound to be outnumbered. But he made himself believe that numbers wouldn't matter if his people had enough spirit. So he would give it to them. But he would not lie.

Harry stood on a small hill at the opening to the space between the two cliffs, which was well lit from numerous lanterns and lighted wands, so that everyone could see him. Everyone grew still and quiet as he faced them.

"A lot of you may not want to hear what I am about to say, either because you find it too improbable to be true or simply because you have no wish to believe anything other than what you have already been told. However, there will be those among you who will hear me. It is to that minority, no matter how small, that I address these words." Harry waited a few moments to think of what else to say. He knew that there were rumours filtering through the ranks that they would all survive because of some feat of … something that no one really knew of. But Harry didn't want them going into a battle thinking that they're invincible – that would only jeopardise their lives because they would run headlong into attacks that they think will not hurt them. He decided to simply speak from his heart. "I'm not gonna lie to you – I don't think everyone here will make it back alive," a low muttering broke out amongst them all, but Harry just waited. "But what I am certain of is that not one slave in Voldemort's army is gonna make it through the night. Not one! You know the enemy. You know what they're about. You know how they function. You know how to destroy them! And destroy them you will! 'Coz only one side can win and I say it's us!" cheers of agreement met his words of encouragement. Those who knew Harry knew about his trouble with speaking so to hear him like this was quite an occasion. Harry continued. "Now there's a lot more of them than there are of us and they have everything at their disposal. But we can do this! All Voldemort cares about is making his army bigger. He's not really bothered about what exactly he's putting in there! But we're the best of the best. We wait out whole lives for moments like these and we push ourselves to the limit to make sure we're ready. He's killed muggles, wizards, witches and everything else that dared to make a stand. That in itself is unforgivable. But when he spilled the blood of our friends, he declared war on people that will not rest until he has paid for his crimes! We're not gonna take this lying down! We're not gonna run from him! Even if it is our time to go then we're not going without a fight. Most of the people that will benefit from what we're about to do are the ones that brought us together in the first place. But we're not doing it for them. We're doing it for us and for each other! Too long we've been shunned by people who thought us worthy only of extermination. All that ends tonight. We are going to fight for our freedom!" cheers, war cries and yells of affirmation erupted all around and reverberated up the sides of the cliffs. They echoed long into the night. In those few moments of utter belief in themselves and those around them, Hermione, the four Weasleys and the three ex-order of the phoenix members saw Harry in a new light. They saw a man who was nothing like the one they thought they knew. Each wondered what he meant by being shunned by others and how exactly he came to be this warrior.

However, their celebrations were cut short when a monstrous sound ploughed through the air. Harry looked over his shoulder to find the horizon filled with ominously dark shadows. He turned around fully to get a better view. He tried his up most to conceal the shiver that threatened to wrack his body at the sight of so much opposition. Voldemort's army covered the entire expanse of the horizon as far as the eye could see in both directions, there was no way to tell how far back the troops went; no way of knowing exactly how many there were. The sound they'd heard was from the many battle horns being blown and the many creatures roaring at them. Then, a wave of sickly green light flew into the air above the enemy and flashed into the hideous shape of the Dark Mark. Its mouth contorted around its snake like tongue to form words that thundered across the sky and was heard clearly by everyone. "Harry Potter. Surrender now for you cannot win." It was the unmistakable voice of Voldemort himself. Harry was proud to see that not one of his fighters had flinched when he spoke. He knew that his army couldn't be seen from Voldemort's perspective so to him, it looked like Harry was all alone.

Harry simply glanced behind him and Alex came fore ward, waited at his side as he mounted her saddle and gripped the reigns loosely. He gently removed his sword form its sheath and held it relaxed at his side. The brunette gently squeezed Alex's sides with the bottom of his legs to tell her to walk fore ward. She obeyed and as they moved the rest of the warriors followed. They all moved as one: over the small hill at the opening and out into the night air. It was still raining heavily as thunder chased the lightening above them in the clouds. Everyone spread themselves out in front of the cliffs, readied themselves and waited for their orders. Although they were ready, none had drawn their weapons. A stalemate. Each side waiting for the other to reveal its first move.

Voldemort broke first. A great swarm of black shadows drifted up into the air then, as one, speeded straight for Harry.

"Dementors!" Harry shouted. He focused his thoughts on one single happy memory, along with everyone else. It took only a few seconds to gather enough energy. Everyone's eyes were closed. It started at the very back lines of the troops. A brilliant silvery white light emerged from the people themselves, flowing through them. Those people joined hands with the people closest to them, who also began to glow. The light flowed along the points of contact and grew in intensity. This carried on all through the lines. It took only moments for the light to make its way to Hermione who stood to the left of Harry. She was at the forefront of the spell. Lupin stood behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder when the light reached them. It would take a strong witch to handle that much energy and Harry couldn't think of anyone better for the job. The light grew and grew until it encased her in a solid shield of silver. Alex reared up on her hind legs and Harry swung his sword above his head as Hermione broke free from her cocoon and grabbed Harry's ankle just as Alex landed back on all fours and Harry thrust the sword out in front of his chest, straight at the oncoming Dementors. Alex had sent a shockwave that cracked the ground as it travelled towards the apposing forces. In these few short seconds, his entire army was blanketed by the light which was pulled into his sword. The Dementors were close. Suddenly, the silver light erupted from the tip of the sword, once again bathing everything around it in light. This light was so strong it washed away the Dark Mark up above and all trace of it from the night sky. No incantation was necessary to create the enormous stag that leapt from the end of the sword amongst thousands of wisps of light and sped towards the Dementors. The stag hit the Dementors head on and drove them back with little resistance. It pushed them all the way back to Voldemort's lines where they started to feast upon those soldiers to recover from the brutal attack of hope and happiness.

Voldemort's roar of outrage was heard by all as he hurriedly tried to banish the Dementors before they devoured more of his followers. But damage was already done; his lines were broken as people fled for their lives and more than a few had fallen when the ground beneath them shook like an earthquake epicentre. They didn't get far however as Voldemort dragged them all back by the Dark Mark upon their skin.

When the lines were reformed, it didn't really look like many had been lost but it was a start.

A single horn was blow as Voldemort's Death Eaters began to storm fore ward.

"Shield!" Harry yelled behind him. Jack and about ten others capable of performing the spell rushed fore ward in front of Harry and spread out to form a line in front of the whole army. They focused themselves before throwing their arms out at an angle to their sides; palms facing fore ward with fingers splayed and pointing at the ground. A blue light cascaded from their fingertips and hit the floor. The rays of light travelled a few feet across the hard ground before bolting skyward to form a great wall of what looked like crystal clean spring water. Harry added his own shield energy thus giving it a slight blue tint to show the power increase.

"Archers!" at Harry's command, everyone equipped with a bow and arrow loaded, aimed high and released a volley in deadly unified accuracy. The shield allowed them to pass trough it and each arrow hit its mark. Their targets fell one after the other as more volleys came, never relenting. However, it didn't seem to thin out the ranks enough so Harry decided to up the offensive.

"Gunners!" everyone left, including Harry, raised their guns – everything from machine guns to semi-automatics to P-90s to hand held pistols – and began firing at will. Again, every bullet hit its intended so none were wasted. Harry finally felt like they were inflicting some serious damage.

By now, Voldemort's people had already been mercilessly hurling hexes at the shield so it was weakening under the intense strain. You could tell by the look of strain and concentration on those few given the task of maintaining it that it would not hold out much longer. But they knew that every second counted because every second that they avoided hand to hand combat could be saving the lives of their comrades. This was their advantage but it was one that could disappear at any time.

The two forces carried on like this for another twenty minutes and Harry was relieved when he could finally see the entirety of Voldemort's army. They had been thinned out considerably and it looked like they wouldn't be that much of a match against Aquila (Harry had begun to think of the entire army as Aquila now – not just the original members) if the shield would just hold out a few minutes more. Unfortunately, it was that precise moment that the shield gave way, leaving Jack and the other few to collapse briefly in utter exhaustion. Luckily, they had projected the shield far enough away so that when Voldemort broke through they had stood up and were ready once again.

Harry nudged Alex on so that they rode out a short space away from Aquila, who followed behind them. Harry led them into the battle they had been waiting for.

The teenager quickly dismounted and removed his sword from its sheath (he had replaced it before using his pistols) and walked towards the oncoming mass. Alex transformed into a massive raven and soared upwards towards the clouds. She drew the attention of the lightening and skilfully dodged the numerous highly charged strikes. However, because they missed their original target, they had to find a new place to discharge their electricity so they turned upon the Death Eaters as they were the largest moving mass. This destroyed a few more of them and Harry was grateful – even though they had taken out lots of them, there was still many left. Alex kept on doing this to help in any way she could.

Aquila soon caught up with Harry and so did the Death Eaters. They both met head on.

The first blood to be spilled was Death Eater. Aquila managed to dodge every spell sent their way and even deflect some back at their casters with their swords. Harry sliced through one Death Eater then stabbed another. All around him, Aquila was doing the same; going from one creature to the next. A centaur galloped passed and crushed anyone who got in his way. Harry blocked a blow from a sword that was aimed at his shoulder then viciously lashed out with his foot. He kicked the offending Death Eater in the knee cap, effectively breaking it in two. His opponent fell to the ground, whimpering in pain so Harry put him out of his misery by slamming his sword into his back. He went on to kill five more in a similar fashion before he heard a roar coming from above. He risked a glance upwards to see a welcomed sight. At least twelve dragons of all breeds were flying determinedly towards the ongoing battle. However, it was what was in front of them that brought a smile to Harry's blood splattered face. Buckbeak was leading the dragons in a triangular formation. But Harry was again distracted by a spell that whizzed passed him, barely an inch from his chest. He spun round to see the face of Bellatrix Lestrange glaring at him. Oh how he had hoped to meet her here. He wasted no time in running up to her and making a slashing motion with his sword. However, she sidestepped it and swung her wand around to aim at him again. Harry flung his free arm out at her and watched in satisfaction as her wand splintered and shattered in her hand. She screamed in rage and ran at him with her arm outstretched. Harry merely waited until she was in range then jumped into the air, made one clean cut and landed neatly. Bella died before her head hit the floor, separate from the rest of her body.

Harry rewarded himself with another quick glance round. He had lost sight of Hermione and he hoped she was still going strong. His hopes were granted when he caught a glimpse of her sword stab through a Death Eater then move onto another two. Harry continued to make his way through the never ending mass of Death Eaters, killing each one he met. The newly arrived dragons and Buckbeak contributed by joining Alex and flying to the very back of Voldemort's troops and spreading out to try and herd them into a tighter group and burning everyone, careful to avoid Aquila. Charlie had trained them well. Buckbeak, who was unable to breathe fire, cleaned up anyone missed by pouncing on them and ripping them to shreds. Alex had transformed into a dragon to aid in the fire breathing.

All of their efforts were having an effect: Voldemort's army was definitely weakening, but Aquila was still massively outnumbered. There seemed to be no end to this battle. No one knew how long it went on for but the storm overhead was slowly calming.

It must have been very early in the morning (or late in the night) when Harry finally found his primary target. The raging battle seemed to fade away slightly as he focused his attention entirely on the snake like face of Voldemort, who stood less than ten feet away. Harry was breathing hard and had numerous cuts and bruises from the battle whereas Voldemort looked as he always did – like he had watched all that had happened from the sidelines. He had left his people to die while he waited for the best opportunity to strike – when everyone else was weak and tired. Harry looked him straight in the eye as he emitted a low, feral growl and sprinted straight for the despicable creature in front of him. He made a strike but in an instant Voldemort had blocked his attack with his own sword.

"I have watched you fight. I know your tactics," Voldemort smirked as he hissed the words. They were so close they could hear each other perfectly even over all the noise for the fighting going on around them. Harry glared at him over their locked blades before pushing off and landing a reasonably safe distance away. Voldemort obviously had skill with a sword; Harry had felt the strength behind his block and instantly knew this was not going to be easy. Or over quickly. His thoughts were interrupted as Voldemort came at him with an intricate sword routine. Harry met him move for move but each time the metals clashed a shock would make his whole body tremble slightly. He was weakening and they both knew it. After about ten minutes of this Harry was finally knocked to the sodden ground. He instantly got back up but a few seconds later, he was on the ground once again. But once again he stood right back up. The next time he tumbled to the ground, he found it harder to stand.

"Why? Why do you do it? Why bother getting up? You must know by now that you have lost – there's no denying it!" Voldemort was growing impatient by the boy's persistence, he came here for the artefact, he needed more power to solidify is hold over both Wizarding and muggle worlds. He didn't have time for this. His army was nearly completely gone but he didn't really care; he could always build it up again. "Do you believe you are fighting for something? Possibly the artefact hidden here, what is it – why does it mean so much to you?"

Harry couldn't help it – he laughed. "Don't you get it? There is no artefact! We lied! We needed to get you here and you played right into our hands!" Harry had managed to crawl over to a couple of dead bodies and was using them to try and get himself upright. He could not so he just slumped against them, exhaustion overwhelming him. Blood slivered freely from an open gash on his cheek. Voldemort searched his face for any hint of deception, when he found none he let out a yell of frustration and thrust his sword at Harry. It struck him in his shoulder and slid cleanly all the way through to the bodies behind the teen. Harry refused to scream so he merely gritted his teeth until the blade stopped its movement. When he next opened his eyes he saw Voldemort smirking in satisfaction at him impaled on the end of his sword. Harry's own sword lay next to the arm that had been stabbed. He couldn't reach it. With great effort, Harry grabbed onto the blade embedded in his shoulder with his free hand and pulled with every ounce of strength he had left. He managed to pull it out even though Voldemort was putting pressure on the opposite end; it happened so fast Voldemort didn't really have time to react. Harry yanked it out and slid from under it so that it impaled itself back in the bodies behind him. He then scrambled to his own sword and had just grabbed hold of it when Voldemort violently kicked him in his side. He fell back again against the dead bodies, pain flaring through his ribs. Harry glared up at the sickening smirk playing across Voldemort's serpentine features. Oh how he hated him.

Harry brought his breathing back under control and focused his entire being on the creature in front of him. His concentration was so great the still raging battle faded away from his vision and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. All his pain ebbed away slightly to allow him to focus even more. He didn't see Lupin get struck on the back by a broken sword, or how he pulled himself to his feet and blasted away the culprit with a single spell. Or the way the Weasley twins worked in unison to take out one Death Eater after another with everything from spells to their fists. He even missed Kingsley Shackelbolt and Bill Weasley hit the same Death Eater with two very different spells that reduced it to a smouldering wreck. Harry didn't see Voldemort pull back his sword to deliver a final blow. He aimed straight for the head. But Harry didn't have to see it. At the last instant Harry brought up his hands and caught the blade inches away from his face. He snapped open his eyes to look Voldemort straight in the eye. Harry smirked. Then he pushed out with the sword still held between his hands, the handle rammed itself right into Voldemort's face. Blood streamed down his face from the point of contact. Voldemort's sword dropped from his loose grip. Harry leaped to his feet, his own sword in hand and charged towards Voldemort's staggering frame. He made one clean cut through the neck, then pivoted round to deliver another clean slice diagonally from one shoulder to a hip, then finally brought the sword back up to slice through Voldemort's waist. It happened so fast that the pieces fell to the ground together.

Harry was again breathing hard as he stared at the bloodied corpse of the greatest Dark Wizard of all time. He had done it. It was over.

All his senses came back to him and he noticed what was going on around him. The battle field was a mess; blood and body bits were splattered all over the place. No one had noticed what he had done for there was still a major fight going on between the remaining members of the Death Eaters and Aquila. Harry was about to rejoin the battle when he felt a strong tug in his head and behind his heart. It rooted him to the spot, he couldn't move. Then, all of a sudden, intense pain ripped its way right through his entire body, forcing a terrible scream from his throat. He dropped to the ground and withered in agony as something began pulling on his very soul. He didn't know what it was until he remembered something – he and Voldemort had a connection through his scar. This must mean that Voldemort was still trying to cling to life through Harry. He couldn't let it happen; not after all this.

Alex saw her master and best friend fall to the ground in agony, she made a beeline for him but could feel something strange happening to her. Her movements seemed slower and her destination seemed to be getting further away. She wouldn't make it. There was a flash of colour in her eyes then they dulled before she faded out of sight completely. She would never be seen again.

Harry was trying to purge himself of Voldemort but the pain was so intense that he found it hard to think. When he opened his eyes slightly, he glimpses the bracelet on his wrist and saw Alex speeding towards him but he knew she wouldn't get here in time. He managed to look into her eyes (weather he imagined it or not he didn't know) and something happened. He saw a small flash in her eyes before she faded away and then he felt something warm and comforting wrap itself around him and seep into his very skin.

_((It's alright, I'm here)) _It was Alex talking to him in his head. She had been absorbed back into his body and was helping to fight of the invasion of Voldemort's consciousness. _((Just relax; everything's going to be alright))_ Harry listened to her and let his body go limp just as he felt himself being turned over so he faced the gradually lightening sky. As soon as he relaxed the pain went away, but so did everything else. His hearing dimmed until his slowing heartbeat was all that he could hear. His vision tunnelled and darkened until he could see nothing. But before this happened, he saw the face of an angel, mere inches from his own, gazing at him with anxious concern. The last thing he heard was someone whispering his name in a voice so familiar to him. Then everything stopped.

Hermione had been fighting all night and she could only tell that it was near morning by the sky that was slowly turning a deep shade of red. She didn't see what happened between Voldemort had Harry but she turned around, startled, at the sound of his scream. She then saw him fall to the ground. At first she thought Voldemort had used crucio on him but the Dark Lord was no where to be seen. The brunette didn't really care what was happening all she knew was that she had to get there. She ran as fast as she could to him, pushing everyone and everything out of her way. She noticed Alex doing the same thing but then the dragon form was gone. Harry had calmed down by the time she got there. She dropped to the ground next to him and pulled him onto his back where he went totally limp. She called his name but got no response. His eyes closed and his last breath left him.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing: Harry Potter had fallen in battle. Everything seemed to stop: the battle, the sunrise, everything. Everyone from Aquila turned to where Harry and Hermione where. In an instant they all knew he wouldn't be getting up again. Even the strongest among them couldn't hold back the tears that trickled steadily down their bloodied and bruised faces. But something strange happened to those tears. Each one of them transformed into tiny blue pin pricks of light that floated up into the air, joined all those around them and swirled gently towards Harry's unmoving figure. Everyone noticed but they didn't care. The tears created a steady stream of light connecting them all to Harry. After a few seconds, the stream slowed and Harry's body began to glow with a soft white light. Hermione allowed a hope that it would bring Harry back fill her heart but when the glow began to dim again, a single tear slipped down her cheek at the realisation that it wouldn't help. Harry wasn't coming back. Her single tear was the last to flow to Harry. It circled his chest once before finally coming to rest above his heart and slowly disappearing into his skin.

In that instant the glow returned with full intensity, brightening the dawn sky and encompassing Harry's body entirely. Then, a huge beam of light shot into the clear morning sky, directly above Harry. It began pulsing softly before a bubble of molten gold droplets burst free and travelled at lightening speed away from it and went all around the world. This golden bubble did many things. It incinerated any remaining Death Eaters as well as the corpses of those who had been killed. Also, it caressed each member of Aquila almost lovingly, even the deceased. Every single cut and wound visibly shrunk in size until it had completely healed. It even breathed new life into those who had lost their lives so that they once again stood proud (but still a little shaken at coming back from the dead) next to their comrades. But all those injuries couldn't just disappear; they had to go somewhere. So if in those few moments it took the bubble to encircle the world they had been able to see him through the light, they would have seen those exact same wounds appear upon Harry. But they too faded from sight when the light returned to normal. Hermione had not left his side and now that she got a clear view of his face, she saw that behind all the blood and dirt from the night's fight, his forehead was smooth and unblemished. Harry potter lay still and at rest.

Throughout all this, no sound was made.

The morning sun was just coming up over the horizon, throwing long shadows across the damp ground when the rest of Aquila gathered around the fallen form of their leader to, as one, thank him for his bravery and bid him farewell.

AN: I'm sooooooooooooo sorry it's been waaaaaay longer than I expected since my last post for this story but I hope you found it worth the wait. I've just started all my GCSE exams but I finish high school in about six weeks so after that I've got a whole two months summer holiday! YaY! So hopefully the next (and last) chapter should be up sometime soon.


End file.
